By NNN-PTI,
Farnborough, United Kingdom : Eyeing India whose annual defence spending is expected to touch a whopping USD 10 billion in the next five years, an Italian defence major has announced plans to focus on the subcontinent from next year by forging tie ups with local companies.
“We are extending our presence both commercially and in terms of production to high potential markets and India will be our focus area in the coming years beginning 2009,” Finmeccanica’s chairman and chief executive officer Pier Francesco Guarguaglini told PTI here.
“Where possible and necessary, we plan to do this largely through local and international partnerships,” Guarguaglini said, when asked about the likely 50 per cent offsets clause in India’s to-be-announced Defence Procurement Plan-2008.
“By integrating our technological and product excellence with that of other companies, we will be able to increase our commercial opportunities, reduce risks and investments, and speed up time to market our products,” he emphasised.
In fact, Finmeccanica has a large presence in India, with nine of the 15 offices and production facilities in Asia alone based in the sub-continent. Whereas, neighbouring China had just three offices and facilities.
“India is certainly a major market for Finmeccanica in the defence and aerospace field, which are our company’s two pillars. The third pillar, of course, is defence electronics,” Finmeccanica’s chief operating officer Giorgio Zappa said.
“We are not in India for any short-term relationships. We are looking at long-term benefits,” Zappa added.