'We want partnerships in multimedia, IT and biotech'

A high-powered business mission from the Canadian province of Quebec was in
India to project the state as a partner for the future to Indian Inc. The
country's assistant deputy minister Marc Ferland, who led the delegation,
spoke with Zia Askari of CyberMedia News about the objectives of the
high-profile mission to India and how a country like Canada can strengthen its
IT activity with Indian companies.

What are the areas where India and Canada can partner in general and
Quebec in particular?

We are looking forward to partnering with India within three prime areas-the
multimedia industry, the IT industry and the biotechnology industry. Canada is
well known for its multimedia skills the world over and within Quebec itself,
there are close to 3,500 people working for 275 companies in the multimedia
sector. Quebec alone employs more than 1,40,000 people in IT working for close
to 5,000 IT companies. This kind of environment has pushed us to generate close
to $5.5 bn in terms of exports to the US. Indian companies looking forward to
developing alliances for the US market can seriously look towards setting their
base in Quebec and formulate partnerships with our companies in the areas of
R&D and marketing.

Why is there a lack of partnership between Indian and Canadian companies
despite India sharing a very good business relationship with lots of US
companies?

Indian companies started to work closely with the US because of the huge
market for IT services and products. Whereas we don't have that kind of huge
market, but at the same time the cost of living and company operating
expenditure is pretty much on the lower side when compared to any US location.

We already have big companies like Ericsson, Nortel, and other global
organization. So now is the ideal time for Indian companies to set up base in
Canada and partner with global companies on various fronts of R&D and
marketing. This can help them in further cutting their operating costs and they
will be very close to US-based customers as well.

What kind of incentives are you going to provide for Indian companies?

We are working on a single-window clearance concept and have designed a
website that provides all the needed information for companies planning to set
up bases in Quebec.

There are incentives being given by the government on various fronts like
land, energy, electricity and high-speed connectivity. Canadian way of life is
much cheaper when compared to other countries like the US. So close proximity to
the US and lower operating costs are the twin benefits of setting up operations
in Canada.

What kind of response have you seen from the Indian IT and biotechnology
sector so far?

We are getting great response from the Indian IT as well as biotechnology
sector. In the coming months we are expecting good number of Indian companies to
start their Canadian operations and work in tandem with some of the best
Canadian companies.

With bioinformatics being seen as the new paradigm that could offer cures for
diseases, Quebec is keen to develop expertise in this area. India, with its
well-recognized skills in IT, is seen as a good talent pool to attract talented
youngsters to migrate.

An estimated 30,000 Indians migrate to Canada annually but only a small
number head for Quebec, with Toronto and Vancouver as the preferred places of
residence. So we have a lot of scope of increasing immigrations in this part of
Canada.