India to get huge opportunities in services sector in Asean

NEW DELHI: Implementation of the India-Asean free trade agreement in services and investment would provide huge opportunities for domestic construction firms in the 10-nation bloc, a study has said.

India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), which have already implemented the free trade pact for goods last year, are engaged in intense negotiations to widen the scope of the agreement by including services and investments.

"The India-Asean free trade agreement will open up a host of business opportunities and projects, especially in construction work for Indian Industry," a Ficci-Deloitte paper said.

It said that Indian companies could seriously look at the current open project tenders in the Asean region in construction related activities such as construction of bridges, canals, roads, school buildings, sports facilities and water-treatment plants.

Besides, Indian entrepreneurs would also get considerable opportunities in services like telecommunications, radio, television, consultancy, architectural, legal, accounting, education, health and social work, the paper said.

It added that once the free trade pact becomes fully operational with all countries of the bloc, Indian businessmen would reap greater benefits in segments like chemicals, pharmaceutical, textiles, handicrafts and carpets.

The India-Asean FTA is yet to be implemented by Philippines.

The Asean countries are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.

The trade between the two stood at about USD 44 billion in 2009-10.