Kolkata: The Indo-French Chamber of Commerce (IFCCI) is looking to set up its first office in Kolkata to promote French investment in Bengal and other parts of eastern India. It will be the nodal French chamber’s first office in the east.IFCCI director general Payal S Kanwar, recently in Kolkata with officials of the chamber and the French embassy, told TOI that the chamber was also exploring the possibility to host an Indo-French investment conclave in Kolkata towards the end of this year. The French delegation met govt officials, chambers and local industry captains.“Today we met the finance secretary, tomorrow we are meeting the state finance minister. We are actually exploring a big event with French companies later this year. The idea is to do something big but this is at an exploratory stage,” Kanwar said. According to her, the chamber is keen to promote the state as an investment destination.As many as 40 French companies, the biggest of them Capegemini, are now operating in the state. According to Kanwar, however, this presence is low compared to the rest of the country, with 800 French companies operating across India. “We would like to see more French companies to operate in Bengal,” she added.At the meeting with the French delegation, Indian Chamber of Commerce senior vice-president Parthiv Neotia highlighted the optimism in the business sector following the new govt formation last month. It was also discussed that with a diversified industrial base and an ecosystem of over 2,000 recognised start-ups, the state is well placed to attract French investments. In view of upcoming EU-India FTA, its strategic location as the gateway to the northeast and the BIMSTEC region further enhances its attractiveness as a business and investment destination.
