Japanese delegates visit Udyog Bhawan, discuss investment

Guwahati: Kurihara (Toshi) Toshihiko, Chief Representative of Japan Bank for International Cooperation(JBIC), Tsuyoshi Honda, Director, Chief Regional Officer of Kolkata Branch of Mitsui & Co India Pvt Ltd and Dr Vinayak Kant Mishra, senior economist of JBIC interacted with officials of the Industries and Commerce department, AIDC, AIIDC, APDCL, ASTEC and MSME-DI at Udyog Bhawan on Thursday.

According to a press release, JBIC is a financial institution wholly owned by the Government of Japan. JBIC promotes and invests in the joint ventures of Japanese companies having stakes in overseas business with foreign entities.

Mitsui & Co is a Japanese conglomerate operating in more than 63 countries. The company operates in diverse segments with particular interest in energy, mineral and metal resources, machinery and infrastructure etc. During the interaction, Kurihara Toshihiko stated that JBIC has mobilized USD 7.8 billion for Indian operations for the financial year 2020-21. He deliberated on the Indo-Japan bilateral relationship and the way JBIC has harmonized their lending with the Central Government policies. He elaborated the support to India's climate actions on reducing the carbon footprint and developing renewable energy resources. He also opined that JBIC is interested in giving loans to Indian companies and public private enterprises that have a minimum of 10% equity holding by a Japanese company and JBIC is open to lending to ventures along with other co-financers to entities that purchase Japanese equipment.

Tsuyoshi Honda gave a brief presentation on the various sectors the company is operating in, particularly on green energy sector. APDCL officials expressed the hope of exploring opportunities and future collaboration on geothermal power, wind and solar power.

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