It is not too late for Japanese businesses to enter the fast-growing Indian market in light of deregulation of foreign investment, according to a leading Indian lawyer and investment consultant.
"Rather, now may be the opportune moment for Japanese enterprises to catch up with their American, European and Asian competitors operating in India," said Som Mandal, head of international practice of India's largest law firm, FoxMandal Little. He was in Tokyo recently for talks with his firm's Japanese clients.
Mandal acknowledged the chronic hesitancy of Japanese corporations in doing business in India, which is attributed by some Japanese industry sources to massive government red tape, poor infrastructure such as power supply and port and road facilities, and prolabor policies resulting in numerous labor disputes.