Chennai: The West Asia conflict may have disrupted global trade, but it has not dampened the appetite of Indian companies to strengthen their presence in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. While the UAE serves as a key economic gateway to the GCC and African markets, Indian companies are also looking to cater to the diaspora closer to home. From retail jewellery and consumer durables to healthcare, companies are seeking to tap the region’s vast opportunities.Eye care chain Dr Agarwal’s Health Care is looking to enter the GCC region. Operating 19 hospitals across nine countries in Africa, it will launch facilities in the UAE soon. “We are evaluating GCC as a market and, particularly, to begin with, we will start in the UAE. We have slowed down a little in this process because of the current war situation in West Asia. However, we are waiting for the current situation to settle down,” its CEO Adil Agarwal said.GCC forms a significant part of the healthcare provider’s international patient base, accounting for more than 25% of total its international patients. Within GCC, the patient traffic is led by the UAE and followed by Saudi Arabia and Oman. Dr Agarwal’s Health Care chairman Amar Agarwal said, GCC is a huge market. “If you take GCC, it is a potential area, which has stable govts and a good economy. And we have got a very good brand there because a lot of our patients come from this region. We continue to see strong confidence from patients across the Gulf,” he added.Retail jewellery brand Tanishq will focus on the GCC and the US markets as part of its overseas expansion plans. It currently has 30 outlets across Singapore, West Asia and the US. According to Arun Narayan, CEO, jewellery division, Titan Company, the focus would be largely on the US, the UAE and a few other countries in the region, including Kuwait and Oman. “We have a long history and cultural relationship with the Middle East. Initially, we opened in Dubai and then expanded into the US,” he said. On average, it adds 10-15 overseas outlets every year.Queried about the impact of the West Asia crisis on the jewellery business, he said, there has been some obvious impact of the war in the GCC. “Even there, whenever there are periods of calm, such as a ceasefire, we are witnessing a revival in customer demand,” he added.Indian consumer durables company, Usha International, is strengthening its overseas presence and setting up offices including in Dubai. It entered the UAE market two years ago. Dubai accounts for 4%-5% of the company’s total exports, comprising fans, sewing machines, and auto parts such as fuel-injection components. About four lakh fans are exported to Dubai annually.Anil Dua, COO, Usha International, said Dubai would serve as a base for further distribution of its products across the GCC region. “The reason for an office in Dubai is more to do with establishing our presence in other parts of the Middle East and Africa,” he said.
