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In Business, Persistence Key to Braving Indian Hospitality By Huang Shan and Chen Chao Despite various achievements, Zhao Quanzhen, country manager of AirChina's India office, considers his station a challenge rather thana success. In 2004, he was sent to Mumbai for the opening of a newflight route linking China and India. Seven years later, Air Chinalaunched its newest route on May 2 from Shanghai to Mumbai, addingto more than 20 flights a week the airline now operates between thetwo countries. However, the business development progress is not living up toZhao's expectations. "It's very hard to make profits as the operation costs skyrocketdue to oil price hike and various taxes imposed," Zhao said. The airline manager also knows he is not alone in his struggles,and many other companies from China endure similar obstacles. Hissentiment is supported by data on the airline's passengerdemographics. Of all the passengers, less than 30 percent areChinese nationals. According to statistics, 600,000 to 700,000 Indians travel to Chinaannually while only 60,000 to 70,000 Chinese make the trip toIndia. Attributing to this disparity could be the imbalance betweenthe numbers of transnational companies: Indian companies in Chinafar outnumber Chinese companies in India despite a US$27 billiontrade deficit in China's favor last year. Perhaps to that end, India has imposed tough restrictions on visasfor the personnel of Chinese companies entering India. "I was holding a business visa during my first few years in India,which meant I had to renew my visa every three to six months," Zhaosaid. Chinese businessmen also complained about applicationprocedures to get a visa, some having to supply an exorbitantamount of documents while others are made to wait a long time. "It took my finance director two month to renew his visa early thisyear," said Zhao. Visa restriction stands an even bigger barrier for Chinesecompanies operating construction projects in India. Chinese people going to India for projects in infrastructuresectors are required to hold project visas, which are issued basedon project capacity with the allowance often far from beingsufficient. "The prolonged processing time [of visa application] delayed thecompletion of our projects," said a representative of a Chineseconstruction company. "Many technicians were unable to reach theconstructions sites in time." In order to tackle the visa problems, Chinese companies has shiftedto employing workers locally, which also enabled them to reduceoperation costs and increase profit margins. "More than 50 percent of employees [of our branch in India] atmanagerial level are Indians, including translators, humanresources directors, financial officers and deputy projectmanagers," said a manager of the same company. "We have createdmore than 10,000 jobs for local Indians." However, the Chinese employers worry that this may have createdproblems with efficiency. "Sometimes you can't have [Indian workers] getting to work on time,but we have learned to live with the problems," said a humanresource manager at the company. "We stipulated regulations andhave boosted Indian employees' morale through their Chinese peers.I think the situation is changing for better, though very slowlyand indistinctively." Other challenges for Chinese employees in India include climate,traffic and even difficulty to find an authentic Chineserestaurant. Some, however, have learned to embrace the localcustoms and culture. "Everything could happen here difficulties beyond yourimagination," said the representative, "But I do find myselfstarting to love this place. I've been attracted to its glamorousculture and traditions, and its people's laidback nature inparticular." Despite the obstacles, India's huge market potential continues tolure more Chinese companies to expand in the world's second mostpopulated country. India will invest US$1.2 trillion ininfrastructure construction during its 12th Five Year Plan(2012-2017), which could give numerous opportunities to Chinesecontractors and heavy machine manufacturers. And once the Chinesecompanies become accustomed to their surroundings and takeadvantage of local resources, they will find their trademark lowercost, high efficiency and leading technology make them competitivein India's market. "Usually, it takes a foreign company more than 10 years toestablish a foothold in India," said Zou Yonghong, the spokespersonwith the Chinese embassy in India. "Persistence is what you need in India," Zhao agreed. "That's a conclusion reached by nearly all the Chinesebusinessmen here.". The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as T8 LED Tube Light , China LED Tunnel Light, and more. For more , please visit T5 LED Tube Light today!
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