Scottish Development International (SDI), a joint venture between the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands & Islands Enterprise is looking at developing closer ties with India to attract prospective investors from the life sciences sector to invest in Scotland. SDI expressed interest in initiating strong working relation with the Indian companies by providing incentives for those who are interested in exploring business ventures within Scotland.
To establish their presence more effectively in the country, SDI also launched Scottish business network in India so that through this they can sensitise both the Indian government and the industry about the investment opportunities in Scotland.
Anne MacColl, CEO, SDI pointed out, “Our main focus is to contribute to the growth of the Scottish economy, by encouraging inward investment and helping Scottish-based companies develop international trade. We want the Indian companies to know that Scotland has a lot opportunities in the area of research and development that will interest them in doing business with us. Scotland has a conducive and market friendly business environment for those who are interested in investing in the country at low risk. Most importantly operational cost relating to conducting business in the Scotland is also very less compared to others.”
At present, SDI has two offices in India i.e. Delhi and Mumbai respectively, representatives from SDI informed that since they are looking at growing their presence in the Indian sub continent this year, they may expand their base in India further. MacColl informed that it is high time to concentrate on the Indian companies as their presence in Scotland has been growing at 8 per cent over the past 12 years.
“We are sure that by investing in Scotland, Indian companies will be able to capitalise on the huge R&D talent pool that Scotland has. Most importantly, we can help companies to benefit from the business and research opportunities available in Scotland and provide them with information on our wide range of investor support services, including access to training, grants and funding. Since we have strong collaborations with the Scottish government, universities, Scottish industry, respectable financial funding corporations, training and research institutes etc..,” MacColl said.
It is interesting to know that there are many other incentives as well that the government is providing for the foreign companies so as to capitalise on each others needs. The representatives from the SDI pointed out that the business environment in Scotland is the best as it has a pool of skilled work force who are highly qualified and the best in their field.
It is important to note that five universities from Scotland are in the top 200 global universities in the world, which shows the countries commitment to R&D. Last year 22 per cent of UK's R&D initiatives came in through Scotland.
Source:Pharmabiz
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