Our Bureau

Bangalore , Nov. 2

FOUR IT companies from Karnataka will be finalising their investment plan in Germany soon. Discussions were in advanced stage and hence the names could not be divulged said Ms Sibylle Herforth, Executive Director, Frankfurt Economic Development.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Ms Herforth said three companies from the biotechnology sector were also engaged in discussions to set up business in Frankfurt, underlining the growing interest of Indian technology companies in Germany. Already 40 IT companies were operating in Germany.

Ms Herforth, who is here as part of the German delegation for promotion of Indo-German economic ties, was accompanied by Mr Rainer Jaekel, Head, Department of Innovation &Technology, Ministry of Economics and Labour, Government of Germany and Mr Joachim Weber of the intec.net (International Technology Cooperation Network), a networking platform for Asian and East European countries for investments.

Mr Jaekel said that Germany was keen to attract talent from India and it has already amended the immigration rules to facilitate easier entry of skilled professionals. The new statute, expected to come into force from January next year, would, among other things, permit students to stay on in that country after they got jobs. Presently, students had to apply for fresh immigration permit for jobs after completion of studies.

Stating that Germany needed a large-scale induction of trained and skilled professionals in high technology sectors, Mr Jaekel said Germany's ICT (information, communication and telecom) market offered great opportunity by being the largest economy in the European continent.

Already 17,000 Indian professionals have availed themselves of the `Green card' work permit system introduced in Germany in 2000, Mr Jaekel said. Ms Herforth and Mr Jaekel hailed the system as "a big gain" because, according to an estimate, each green card holder — who in conformity with the rules had to bring a minimum of investment — creates 2.5 jobs.

Mr Jaekel said though his country was grappling with unemployment issues, immigrant professionals would not pose problems as the country faced a shortage in skilled engineers. With stagnant growth in population and skilled professionals retiring at a much younger age than the statutory 65 years, Germany would need much more skilled workers, he said.

Germany, which draws its strength from SMEs, has stepped up its efforts through several joint ventures with India to leverage and collaborate on expertise.

The bilateral India-Germany trade has reached $4.5 billion and Germany is the fourth largest trading partner after the US, UK and Japan.

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