Ontario International, GCCI hold seminar to promote India-North America biz

PANAJI: The government of Ontario, Canada organised a seminar in collaboration with the Goa Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) to empower Indian firms interested in expanding operations into North America via Ontario.

Ontario International- New Delhi Trade & Investment Office, Government of Ontario, along with startupgoa.org and GCCI organised this seminar here yesterday after Ontario earmarked India as a priority country for commercial links.

The seminar was open to all Indian companies interested in learning about opportunities in Ontario and setting up an office.

It was of special interest to Indian firms which are already exporting to North America as they explore opportunities for setting up operations in Ontario.

"Indian companies such as ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Wipro and many more have already made their foray into North America via offices and operations in Ontario to take advantage of the abundant skilled labour, lowest taxes in G7 nations and growing infrastructure capabilities, earlier this year.

" Tech Mahindra invested in building an Intelligent Electric Vehicle Charging System (IEVCS) for Ontario's clean energy future," said Jens-Michael Schaal, Counsellor (Commercial-Ontario), who leads Ontario International - New Delhi Trade & Investment Office.

The interactive session on investment opportunities for Indian companies in Ontario at the seminar introduced Ontario and its key strengths, sectors and opportunities, offered expert legal advice for setting up operations in the region and shared some of the success stories of Indian companies who successfully started businesses in Ontario, Schaal added.

While Ontario has a vibrant economy, some of the sectors that the government is focusing on are financial services, health, automotive, manufacturing, aerospace, food and beverage manufacturing, tourism, mining, lifesciences, ICT and water technology, he said.