Australian companies eyeing Kolkata as key business destination

Kolkata: Rod Hilton, the Australian Deputy High Commissioner, said on Thursday that among the various states which are said to be the main focus of Australia, Bengal occupies the top preference.

He took part in an interactive session at the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Thursday afternoon.

According to Hill, Bengal is of special importance to Australia in sectors like mining, resources, education, infrastructure, start-ups and tourism.

Australia will be opening its fourth Consulate in India when it starts one in Kolkata end of this year or early January next year. The goal is to lift India among the top three export markets and make it the third largest destination for outward investments ($100 billion by 2035).

Efforts of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to make the state a preferred business destination seems to be paying off as the Bengal Global Business Summit 2019 is likely to see a strong presence of Australian companies.

This was revealed during a recent visit to Australia by the delegation of The Bengal Chamber of Commerce of Industry (BCC&I).

Australian interest in Kolkata and Bengal received a big fillip after a report "An India Economic Strategy to 2035: Navigating from

Potential to Delivery" commissioned by the Australian government, was released to the public on July 12, 2018.

The delegation from The Bengal Chamber had an extensive meeting with Tania Constable, CEO of MCA, the apex body of Australian mining companies, in the Australian capital Canberra.

At the meeting, the BCCI was represented by past president CS Ghosh, newly elected president Indrajit Sen and Director General Subhodip Ghosh.