China remains more favorable destination than India for foreign business

For many Australian businesses looking to expand overseas, both China and India appear to be favorable destinations. An appropriate question, then, seems to be a very necessary one: which country is a more attractive one in terms of foreign expansion? China’s membership of the WTO in 2001 seemed to make it a sure bet with reduced tariffs levels and easier-than-ever, more accessible free trade. But India, too, has its own promising figures such as the “worlds fastest growing credit card market in the world” (Sydney Morning Herald 3 May 2008). Rising manufacturing costs in China seem to be deferring potential business away and are causing some manufacturing firms to have to leave the country, which is reason for some to believe that perhaps India is the most favorable country of the two Asian giants. However, these arguments are tempered by the fact that many “…companies still see China as a strategically important manufacturing base because of its domestic market potential” (AFP 29 April 2008).

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China, Shibangou Bridge underpass, Fuling, Yan...

The Sydney Morning Herald

Thus, it seems as if China remains the most attractive destination for foreign expansion.

It is crucial to note that, in many cases, worldwide companies actually rely on both China and India to rake in their profits. An example of this is Samsung Electronics, whose “net profits jumped 37 per cent in the first quarter amid strength in mobile phones and flat-screen televisions. Samsung earned 2.19 trillion won ($A2.32 billion) in the three months ended March 31, compared with 1.6 trillion won in the same period last year” (Sydney Morning Herald 25 April 2008). Samsung executive vice president for investor relations Chu Woo-sik said that the growth of 33 per cent year-on-year can be attributed to emerging markets, including China and India, because they “continued to be the main driver of growth” (Sydney Morning Herald 25...