By: Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao
[The writer is CPRO to Telangana CM]
All-round development in the Telangana State in general and on the industrial front in particular has attracted many individuals and organizations within the country and abroad. On several occasions invitations have been pouring in from several international organizations requesting Chief Minister Sri K. Chandrashekar Rao to visit their country. One such was from the Switzerland based “World Economic Forum (WEF)”, which is committed to improving the state of the world. In a letter addressed to CM, the Managing Director and Member of the Managing Board Phillip Rosler in the last week of July 2015 extended an invitation to him to the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2015, to be held in Dalian, People’s Republic of China, on 9-11 September in close collaboration with Chinese Government.
In his invitation the MD mentioned that, given the unique challenging task of administering inclusive growth in India’s most newly formed state (Telangana), the Chief Minister’s views will add great value to the conversations on infrastructure development, urbanization and innovation led development. The CM was also requested to bring a business delegation of non-forum member companies to actively participate in the deliberations.
In the invitation letter it is further mentioned that, as the foremost global meeting on innovation, science and technology, the proposed annual meeting of the new champions convenes the next generation of fast growing enterprises shaping the future of business and society and leaders from major multinationals, government, media, academia and civil society. It was further mentioned that the World Economic Forum that is now officially recognized as an International Institution for public private cooperation, feels that the Chief Minister’s and his team’s contributions to the high level discussions during the leading annual meeting are highly anticipated as they will help advance understanding around how technology and innovation will shape inclusive, sustainable and economic value. Since its inception in 1971, the World Economic Forum has become the world’s foremost multi stakeholder organization and has been a driver for reconciliation efforts in different parts of the world, as well as the catalyst of numerous public-private partnerships and international initiatives. The Annual Meeting of the New Champions brings together more than 1,500 participants from 90 countries to share strategies and solutions and discuss global issues and risks. CM accepted the request and agreed to participate along with a business delegation.
Accordingly Chief Minister and his 16-member delegation team left on 7th September 2015 for China and Hong Kong on a 10-day tour that has been mainly organised to take him to the annual new champions meeting of WEF at Dalian in China on September 9. A tight schedule has been drawn for the CM to participate besides in the WEF meet, in many other programs ranging from industrial interactions to industrial promotion visits to places like industrial parks, bilateral meetings and visits to places of tourist attractions as well as participating in business seminars. These are to be in Dalian, Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
On knowing that Chief Minister KCR is leading a delegation to China to participate in the WEF meeting and also scheduled Telangana Investment Promotion visits to other major cities in China, requests have come from China based organizations to include their place also in his schedule. One such is the request from Mr. Jiande YE, President of China Council of Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Shenzhen Council. In his letter addressed to CM he said that Shenzhen based companies are increasingly keen to invest in foreign markets and are looking for opportunities abroad including in India. The President requested CM and his delegation accompanying him to visit Shenzhen on 14th September 2015 for exchanging ideas on mutually beneficial cooperation in trade and investment. The Chief Minister agreed to the request and has scheduled the visit.
On 8th September the second day of his arrival, Mr. Leo Wang, Chairman of Leo group of companies met the CM and expressed his company’s willingness to invest in Telangana in manufacture of heavy duty pumps. Investment of around Rs. 1000 crores is the possibility as a result of the meeting. CEOs of top 30 companies located in Liaoning State had a long meeting with CM and his delegation and exchanged views. They had discussions on possibility of investments in Telangana. Indian Ambassador to China Mr. Ashok k Kantha and his team of officials from Indian embassy have briefed the CM on the China country situation and prospects and potential of Chinese companies to make investments in India, especially in Telangana.
On 9th September, the third day of his stay in Dalian, Chief Minister had a meeting with Professor Klaus Schwab, the Founder and Executive Chairman of World Economic Forum (WEF) in the morning at the Annual Meeting of the New Champions. It was the foremost global business gathering in Asia, which is known as the “Summer Davos.” They both had discussions for about 30 minutes. Among others, CM had requested Klaus Schwab to host WEF annual conference in Hyderabad for which there was a positive response from him. CM briefed him on various economic and social aspects of Telangana state, including significance of Hyderabad City in India.
Chief Minister and Schwab exchanged ideas about promoting economic development. CM explained the Single Window Industrial Policy of Telangana, the best of its kind in the world and how the new policy has brought in approximately Rs. 12,000 Crore investments from 56 industrial companies in less than 3 months. He explained the innovative feature that gives investors the right to obtain timely clearance and puts the onus on government officials to clear large projects in less than 15 days. Schwab praised Telangana as a state renowned for social and economic innovations. He said, “I enjoyed meeting the Chief Minister of a state renowned for social and economic innovations in India. We look forward to his participation at our Annual Meeting of New Champions in China.” Responding to Schwab CM said that “It was wonderful to meet Klaus Schwab and learn about the tremendous impact that the World Economic Forum has had. I am impressed by him and his team.”
The Chief Minister also met Ms. Hilde Schwab, the Chairperson of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship founded in 1998 to promote entrepreneurial solutions and social commitment with a clear impact at the grassroots level. Each year, the Foundation selects a Social Entrepreneur of the Year in India. CM thanked Schwab for her work in promoting social enterprise and he noted that three of the Indian social entrepreneurs of the year were from Telangana and that Hyderabad had become a social enterprise with a variety of organizations and a host of social impact funds.
During the WEF morning session on urban development challenges, Chief Minister has lucidly explained his vision on Hyderabad development. He shared his ideas and experiences with Mayors and vice mayors of very important Chinese cities like Guangzhou, Yuwi etc. CM has requested to help Telangana in sharing their experience and expertise on city developments. In the evening session Chief Minister participated in a discussion on “Emerging Markets at Cross Roads” at the WEF Meeting. The CM in his brief observation on the subject said:
“In India states have a major role to play. Realizing this aspect the Government of India has devolved more powers and funds to the states. In place of the earlier Planning Commission an organization called NITI Ayog consisting of all the Chief Ministers of all the states with Prime Minister as its Chairman has come into existence. We call this as Team India. With Prime Minister as Chairman and CMs as members, we all together plan the development of country as a whole and also the states’ development as well. In a federal structure like the one India follows, states have a major role to play. For instance our state Telangana the newest and youngest 29th state of India has laid down an excellent industrial Policy. We made it a law in the state legislature. We have made it as a right to the investor to get the clearances within the stipulated time of two weeks. We have already given clearances to 56 companies in the recent past to the tune of close to 2 billion US dollars investment. This speaks the mind set of India today to the whole world. I can certainly say that the market of India is a huge consuming market and exporting market as well. So we are stable and definitely we will continue to grow. We have a Prime Minister who is on the path of reform. He is very firm. He was quite successful as Chief Minister of Gujarat state”.
“Ups and downs are normally seen and normally observed. What I believe is that the way china pursued is to be seen as a best example. 30 years ago it was a different China. Today the world sees a highly grown up developed China. One should learn from China. What not to be learnt from china? We can learn everything from China. We strongly believe that we will grow and the trend is in our favour. We are the biggest oil importer and oil prices have come down now. We are happy for that and we will certainly make use of the situation and continue to grow further. This is our advantage”.
“May be economies of other countries are at the cross roads. I can certainly say that definitely India is not at cross roads. The Government is on the path of reforms. We are moving with greater speed. India is saving lot of money on oil import. With that we have a lot of scope to create more infrastructures for the poor people and India is marching towards inclusive growth. We give utmost priority for the inclusive growth of the society and country and we believe in that. Structural changes will take place when poor remain poor and rich become richer. That will be a cursing point which is undesirable. We should maintain equilibrium taking care of the poor and maintaining the dignity of poor”.
“In my state, though it is a new state, I have started a two bedroom house scheme for the vulnerable and disadvantaged community. We are spending lot of money on providing drinking water and creating infrastructure in the city of Hyderabad and laid down very good industrial policy. I appeal to the world business community that India is a fairly good place for investment. I welcome all business worlds to come to India in general and particularly to Hyderabad and Telangana where we have a huge land bank to allot for industries. The industrial policy like ours is no where in the world. There are single window policies in the world, but the single window of Telangana, I can certainly say, is without grills. The officers who delay in delivering the required permissions and allocations will be penalised. We made it a right to the investor to get the required permissions, required allocations and required clearances within the stipulated time other wise it can be deemed to have been given and the business house can go ahead. I welcome the business world to come to India, invest in India and invest in Telangana and let us go together”.
The way CM defended Indian Economy and its policies, the way he certified China’s development and confirmed its potential in coming out of its financial setback, the way he projected Telangana reiterates that KCR is a global person with vision and foresight. His observations in the WEF meeting signalled the world in general and India in particular that KCR is not only a regional party leader who championed statehood movement but also a progressive visionary and statesman with a foresight of inclusive growth.
On 10th September his fourth day stay Chief Minister had a 40 minutes meeting with Mr. KV Kamath, President and Mr. Xian Zhu Vice President of New Development Bank Shanghai. The Bank of Shanghai is a very new bank in the process of formulating funding policies. They focus on infrastructure development in developing countries. It was a very interesting meeting. CM sought their help in funding Urban development projects, including waste to energy, irrigation etc. They positively responded.
Earlier in the morning CM and delegation accompanying him reached Shanghai from Dalian after attending WEF meeting. Shanghai, on China’s central coast, is the country’s biggest city and a global financial hub. Its heart is the Bund, a famed waterfront walkway lined with colonial-era buildings. The CM and delegation traveled by Maglev High Speed Train which moves with 300 KM per hour, from Airport to city.
Later in the evening Chief Minister addressed a meeting organized by CII and Government of Telangana to explain the investment opportunities in the state in which more than 65 Chinese entrepreneurs and companies participated. It was a huge success. The CM explained the details of single window industrial policy, the availability of land bank, hassle free permissions and approvals, zero corruption etc. He mentioned about chasing cell in CMO to take care of processing applications of investors and within a stipulated time of 15 days required permissions and approvals would be given. CM invited them to invest in Telangana. Many industrialists evinced keen interest and expressed their desire to invest in Telangana. Earlier in the presence of CM, MoU was signed between Celkon and Makeno for investment of 20 million US Dollars in Hyderabad to set up LED TV unit.
Two more Chinese companies in cell phone components and headphones have come forward to invest in Hyderabad. Shanghai Electric Corporation Vice President Mr. Shao having a 40 Billion Dollar company met CM. They have expressed their interest in setting up manufacturing and supply units of high powered pumps and electrical equipment in Hyderabad. CM extended an invitation to them and requested their team to visit Telangana.
Before leaving Shanghai for Beijing, delegation members in the team of Chief Minister visited Suzhou Industrial Park Located in Suzhou, a city known as “the paradise on earth”. Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) is an important economic cooperation project between Chinese and Singapore government and covers a total jurisdiction area of 288 sq km, among which 80 sq km area belongs to China-Singapore Cooperative Zone. It is a pilot zone of reform and opening-up and a successful model of international cooperation. It is one of China’s fastest-growing development zones with the most international competitive edges. It has been ranking the first for years among China’s development zones in using foreign capital.
As China’s modernization drive gained momentum in the late 1980s, many Chinese delegations visited Singapore to learn modern management methods, while Singapore was also planning Economic Regionalization focusing on overseas investment. Both governments decided to join hands in developing a modern industrial park in the east of Suzhou. The China–Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (CS-SIP) was thus born on February 26, 1994 when Chinese Vice-Premier Li Lanqing and Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew signed the Agreement on the Joint Development of CS-SIP. The China-Singapore Joint Steering Council led by Chinese Vice-Premier Wu Yi and Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng will hold meeting every year to give directions for the development of SIP.
The delegation members had an interaction with Mr. Yu Cai Zen, member of China–Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park Committee. Mr. Yu briefed about the origin and development of the park and said that there are about seven Lakhs of employees working in the park. Ministers Sri Jupalli Krishna Rao and Sri Jagadish Reddy and other members of the delegation appreciated the development there. They shared with Park Committee members details of Telangana State Industrial Policy. They also requested Mr. Yu and his team to extend their cooperation in developing such industrial parks in Telangana.
On day five the 11th September Chief Minister along with the delegation accompanying him participated in the dinner, hosted by Indian Ambassador in Beijing Mr. Ashok K Kantha in the evening. On arrival for the dinner CM signed in the Guests’ register at Ambassador’s house. The Ambassador told CM that several industrialists and Chinese companies are showing interest to invest in Telangana State after CM’s address in the World Economic Forum in Dalian.
Earlier he reached China capital from Shanghai after staying two days there. While in Shanghai, CM had an interaction with Mr. Yogesh Wagh, Director of Anju Infrastructure, a China based leading company. The CM explained in detail the Telangana State Industrial Policy to Mr. Yogesh who evinced keen interest and expressed his preparedness to invest in Telangana State. CM invited him to visit Telangana for which he responded positively.
On day six the 12th September Chief Minister had a series of bilateral meetings at the Raffles Beijing Hotel in Beijing with leading Chinese Industrial Companies and prospective investors. They include Chongqing International Construction Corporation, Inspur Group of Companies, China Fortune Land Development Company, China Railway Corporation and SANY Group. The Chief Minister briefed the representatives of these companies in detail about the facilities available in Telangana for them to invest in their respective fields of operation. In return they have shown keen interest in the state and expressed their willingness to visit the Telangana State as early as possible for further discussions.
The Chongqing International Construction Corporation (CICO) has been represented by Mr. Du Xian Zhang Vice-President and General Manager. Other members who participated in the meeting are DGM Mr. He Yujun, Executives Ms. Han Yinlu, Mr. Gou Xueyuan and Vice-GM Mr. Wen Yan. CICO was established in 1985 with a capital of 120 Million US Dollars. CICO is an infrastructure company in construction, project consulting, architectural design, mechanical and electrical installation, materials production, EPC projects etc. It has two projects in India namely Medical Institute in Bihar and Light Railway Project in New Delhi. It has branches in several countries including Sudan, Tanzania, and UK. It encourages PPP mode in infrastructure construction in road building and power station in India. It plans to cooperate with Indian Company for engineering contracting project. Discussions between CM and CICO rotated round their participation in Telangana State.
Chief Minister along with delegation had a meeting with representatives of Inspur Group led by its Vice-President Mr. Zhang Dong who is also President and CEO of Inspur India. The other members of the group are: Mr. Terrence Du, Head of Key Accounts and Inspur India, Mr. Snighk Soog, Head of Government affair Inspur India. Inspur group intends to invest in India in the field of electronics and Hardware. It began its operations in January 2015 in India with opening its branch office in Gurgaon. Inspur Group is one of the leading companies in the field of total solution and service provider of cloud computing in China. The server sales volume ranks number 5 in the world and number 1 in China. It provides IT products and services for 50 countries and regions in the world. They have shown interest to start its operations in Telangana also.
Chief Minister and his team had yet another bilateral meeting the same day in the afternoon with representatives of (CFLDC) China Fortune Land Development Company. CFLDC is lead by its Vice-President Mr. Liang Wentao and consisted of Director Planning Mr. Zhang Qitan, Assistant to President Ms. An Jing and Indian Consultant Mr. Sonny Badiga. CFLDC is interested to develop new industrial city in India. They shared their experiences with each other and explored the possibilities of CFLDC investing in Telangana State.
China Fortune Land Development provides investment, development, and operation services for industrial cities in China. It is a leading developer of new industrial city, industrial zone, theme zone, headquarters of industrial zone and standard workshop area. Its industrial cities comprise scientific and technological cities, and industrial complexes. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in Beijing, China. CFLDC asset size exceeds 16.7 billion USD and the overall sale in the first quarter of 2015 was over 5 lakhs USD. The registered capital reached 440 million USD. At the end of 2014 its total investment is more than 20 billion USD. It has an employee strength of around 12, 000. Some projects developed by it in China include, Guan Development Area, Dachang Chaobai river development area, Jiashan HSR new city, Shen Shu Eco Technological innovation city and China Fortune Innovation Park. The meeting concentrated basically on CFLDC participation in developing such industrial cities in Telangana.
Chief Minister’s another meeting was with representatives of China Railway Corporation. China Railway Corporation (CRC) is the national railway operator in China and manages all commuter rail and freight transport. With 5,700 train stations, they support the largest population in the world. Another meeting was with SANY group. It is a global company in the construction machinery industry with a vast product range of concrete machinery, excavator, hoisting machinery, pile driving machinery, road construction machinery, port machinery, and wind turbine. SANY became the unique company listed among the world’s top 500 companies in China’s construction machinery industry.
Chief Minister visited the Forbidden City in Beijing in the afternoon accompanied by the delegation visiting China with him. The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty. It is located in the centre of Beijing and now houses the Palace Museum. It served as the home of emperors and their households as well as the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government for almost 500 years. Built in 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings and covers 180 acres. The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture, and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. CM enquired about the city and about facilities available for the visitors there.
Chief Minister on day seven, the 13th September reached Shenzhen in the evening along with the delegation. Before leaving for Shenzhen, CM along with the delegation members visited places of interest in Beijing. Beijing, China’s massive capital has history stretching back three thousand years. Yet, it is known as much for its modern architecture as its ancient sites. The city among others has the massive Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall of China and many more interesting places to see.
CM with his team first visited the Tiananmen which is a large city square named after the Tiananmen gate separating it from the Forbidden City. The square contains the monuments to the heroes of the revolution, the great hall of people, the National Museum of China, and the Chairman Mao Zedong Memorial Hall. Tiananmen Square is within the top five largest city squares in the world. It has great cultural significance as it was the site of several important events in Chinese history.
The next visit was to the Great Wall of China. It is a series of fortifications made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials, generally built along an east-to-west line across the historical northern borders of China to protect the Chinese states and empires against the raids and invasions. It is the largest man-made monument ever to have been built. The Great Wall has on and off been rebuilt, maintained, and enhanced. The majority of the existing wall is from the Ming Dynasty. Other purposes of the Great Wall have included border controls, allowing the imposition of duties on goods transported along the Silk Road, regulation or encouragement of trade and the control of immigration and emigration.
CM and his delegation team spent couple of hours to go round the two places. CM evinced keen interest to know details about these two places, their historical and modern importance and also elicited information about the tourist and other importance of these places.
On day eight the 14th September Chief Minister along with the delegation members accompanying him had an exposure visit to Shenzhen High-Tech Industrial Park (SHIP) in Shenzhen. Earlier CM had been to China Council for Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and had a meeting with their representatives. Both the groups exchanged ideas on international trade. CM briefed them about the Telangana State Industrial Policy and about opportunities to invest in Telangana. The (CCPIT) is a trade body of the Chinese Government founded in 1952. The CCPIT develops business cooperation and exchanges with foreign countries. It produces economic data, and is involved with diplomacy and with trade arbitration issues.
In the SHIP CM and his team of delegates first visited the premises of ZTE Corporation (Mobile Device Future Concepts) which is a prominent electronic hardware manufacturing company in the park. ZTE Corporation is a Chinese multinational telecommunications equipment and systems company headquartered in Shenzhen. ZTE operates in three business units – Carrier Networks, Terminals and Telecommunication. ZTE’s core products are wireless, exchange, access, optical transmission, and data telecommunications gear, mobile phones and telecommunications software. ZTE is one of the top five largest Smartphone manufacturers in its home market and in the top ten, worldwide. CM and representatives of ZTE had discussions on the possibility of establishing similar units in Telangana.
CM had lot of appreciation for the SHIP founded in September 1996 and has been listed among China’s five state-level high-tech parks. SHIP covers a total area of 11.5 square kilometres in Nanshan District. Supported by the municipal government, the industrial park provides integrated services to enterprises, researchers and investors. It has been selected by national authorities as the country’s Export Base of High-tech Products, APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) High-tech Industrial Park, Advanced State-level High-tech Industry Area and National Software Industry Base.
Authorities concerned briefed the delegation that the park has attracted many global high-tech giants and internationally famous enterprises including IBM, Philips, Compaq, Olympus, Epson, Lucent, Harris and Thomson, as well as the leading domestic players including Huawei, ZTE, Lenovo, TCL, Skyworth, Great wall and Powerise. In the Park, there have been a group of national grade scientific research institutions which are leading and have formed a development team consisting of a big group of talents with doctor’s degree and master’s degree. The management of the park currently focuses on promoting the development of key industries including computer, telecommunication, networking, integrated circuit, optical electronics, biological engineering and new materials.
CM and the members of delegation while going round the park had interaction with persons associated with various enterprises in the park and enquired about their functioning. CM also explained them about the opportunities in Telangana for investors.
After staying for a day in Shenzhen and after visiting the SHIP CM and delegation members left for Hong Kong. In Hong Kong CM schedule included industry interactions besides visiting couple of places of interest. Hong Kong on the southern coast of China is known for its skyline and deep natural harbor. It has a highly developed public transportation network covering 90 per cent of the population, the highest in the world, and relies on mass transit by road or rail.
On day nine, the 15th September, a day before leaving for Hyderabad, Chief Minister participated in a seminar on “Business Opportunities for Hong Kong Companies in the State of Telangana” at Renaissance Harbor View Hotel in Hong Kong in the forenoon. CM offering his remarks on the seminar proceedings explained about Telangana State Industrial Policy, the single window system, hazel free clearances and timely approvals. Mr. Prashant Agrawal Consul General of India in Hong Kong welcomed the participants. A five minute documentary on Telangana State was shown to the participants. Sri Arvindkumar Secretary Industries and Commerce, Government of Telangana made a presentation on business opportunities in the state of Telangana and its new industrial policy. There was a question answer and interaction session as part of seminar. Concluding remarks were given by Mr. Arunachalam, Chairman Indian Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong. After conclusion of seminar CM along with Consul General and all participants had lunch together.
After the seminar held in the forenoon, CM along with the delegation members and Consul General Hong Kong Mr. Prashant Agrawal visited the place of Big Buddha generally known as Tian Tan Buddha and had been to the Peak where the statue is situated. This is a large bronze statue completed in 1993, and located at Ngong Ping, Lantau Island. The statue symbolizes the harmonious relationship between man and nature, people and faith. It is a major centre of Buddhism in Hong Kong, and is also a popular tourist attraction. The statue is 112 feet tall, weighs over 250 metric tons and was constructed from 202 bronze pieces. In addition to the exterior components, there is a strong steel framework inside to support the heavy load. Visitors have to climb 268 steps to reach the Buddha. The Tian Tan Buddha was constructed beginning in 1990, and was finished on 29 December 1993, which the Chinese reckon as the day of the Buddha’s enlightenment.
After meeting couple of business delegates as a follow-up of previous day’s seminar on “Business Opportunities”, CM and his delegation left Hong Kong in the afternoon of 16th September 2015 and reached Hyderabad the same evening.
The delegation that accompanied CM for the WEF consisted of Sarvasri K. Keshava Rao MP, K. Swamy Goud Chairman Legislative Council, K. Madhusudhana Chary Speaker Legislative Assembly, Jupally Krishna Rao Minister for Industries and Commerce, Jagadish Reddy Minister for Power, S. Venugopala Chary Special Representative at Delhi, Koppula Eshwar Chief Whip, Guvvala Balaraj MLA, S. Narsinga Rao Principal Secretary to CM, Shanthi Kumari Additional Principal Secretary to CM, Arvind Kumar Secretary Industries and Commerce, Shivadar Reddy IG Intelligence, Mahesh Murlidhar Bhagwat IG Security, Rajashekhar Reddy Special Secretary to CM, E.V. Narasimha Reddy MD TSIIC, J. Santosh Kumar CMO and Subash Reddy CMO.
