SEOUL, KOREA - A report published by the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency warned that Korean companies are overtaken by Japanese counterparts in pre-empting the rapidly growing Indian market.

According to the May 1 report "Japan's India Strategy: Implications and Lessons," the number of Japanese companies doing business in India as of the end of 2012 was 900, almost three times that of Korean companies. As for the volume of foreign direct investment, Japan was ranked No. 2 in the world as of the end of 2011 with US$2,972 million. Korea, in contrast, is falling way behind with $445 million, ranking 11th.

 

The report said Japanese companies have been quickly moving into the South Asian market supported by the activist Japanese government. Since the 2005 joint statement "Japan-India Partnership in the New Asian Era" signed by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and  Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the two countries have been strengthening partnership relations in all critical areas including economy, security, and science and technology.

 

On the other hand, Korea has not been able to come up with consistent strategies in one of the world's most important markets. Choi Dong-seok, KOTRA's senior manager in charge of market research and the principal author of the report, said, "Our presence in the potentially huge market as big as the Chinese one is outshone by that of Japanese companies."