The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is promoting India as an alternative manufacturing base for its industries based in China, as per a research report. The HKTDC report said, “In recent years, the sustained rise in production costs on the Chinese mainland has eroded the profit margins of many Hong Kong companies with labour-intensive factories located on the Chinese mainland, prompting them to seek alternative production bases elsewhere. In a nutshell, India offers many advantages as an alternative production base, along with the added advantage of having a domestic market of great potential,” the report said.
The report said India was the world's second biggest exporter of textile and garment products in 2014, shipping goods worth $36 billion, behind China's exports worth a whopping $399 billion. Citing the lower import tariff levied on Indian goods by the US and the European Union, the report called India an active player in Asia, securing free trade agreements inside and outside the region. Demographically, the report states that the Indian median age of 27 is way below China's 37, ensuring a good supply of young workers for many years to come. “As an aside, China recently announced abandonment of its one-child policy in response to the country's ageing population, though the effect would not be appreciable over the short-to-medium term.”
