TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A delegation from the Indian state of Bihar, led by the Department of Industries Additional Chief Secretary Sandeep Poundrik, visited I-Mei Foods on Tuesday (Nov. 21) to encourage the company to consider expanding.
Poundrik said Bihar is a major food processing hub and is able to produce “very good quality food products” including grains, fruits, and vegetables. Thus, it is attracting food processing investment.
The secretary told Taiwan News he was visiting to invite Taiwanese companies to attend an investors summit, “Bihar Business Connect 2023,” hosted by his state from Dec. 13-14. He extended an invitation to I-Mei, highlighting Bihar’s large market of approximately 400 million people, which includes nearby Indian states and neighboring countries like Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh.
I-Mei could source food products from Bihar and utilize the state’s food processing plants, he said.
Poundrik recognized that I-Mei “is a very good company that focuses on quality and environment” and said he hopes it “will consider expanding in India and in Bihar.”
In addition to food processing, the secretary said Bihar is looking to attract more Taiwanese investment in its IT, electronic, and textiles industries. Tourism is also another area for potential growth, given that the state is home to the Buddha.
He encouraged more Taiwanese to visit the state’s cultural sites related to Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha). "We are very close to Taiwan" regarding business and culture, Poundrik said.
Many Taiwanese companies are already in India, he added. Footwear is one of India’s fortes, and the Taiwanese shoe manufacturer Pou Chen Group is opening a factory in Tamil Nadu and will consider Bihar as its next place of expansion.
Poundrik said that the Bihar state government recently inked an agreement with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India on Mandarin learning for Indian workers. Two centers will be established in Patna, the state capital, to train Indians who will assume middle management roles to work in Taiwan companies and act as a bridge between Indian employees and the Taiwanese senior management, he said.
The two centers, funded by the Bihar government, will each have a class size of 60 students. The numbers will increase if the need arises, he said.
Bihar Director of Department of Industries Pankaj Dixit and Investment Promotion Cell consultant Parv Kapoor both accompanied Poundrik on this trip. In addition to I-Mei and Pou Chen, the delegation also visited Hon Hai Technology Group, the Tzu Chi Foundation, and the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association.
*I-Mei Foods is the parent company of Taiwan News.
(Taiwan News, Kelvin Chen photo)
(Taiwan News, Kelvin Chen photo)