A bit annoying...

I must thank an Indian, Abhay Bulsari from South West Finland, living in the city of Turku, who runs a company called AB Nonlinear Solutions Oy, for pointing out this news item from BBC World 'lukewarm to India's role'.

This is a study of how different countries view other countries.



What drew Abhay's attention was the views of Finns about India. Only 27% of Finns view India positively and 44% view the country negatively.

Luckily, the business community in Finalnd today does not hold this view as there is rapid expansion now of Finnish companies starting to use Indian expertise and also use it as an outsourcing point. Two recruitment centres are expected to be opened in India to bring competent Indian scientific and engineering staff to Finland.

14 years ago this would have been unthinkable. When I first pointed out in the first issue of Findians Briefings, way back in 1992, that Texas Instruments had opened a centre in Bangalore with a direct sattelite link to Houstan, Texas, in 1984, not many Finns thought this was a good idea!

But the history of this bad image goes back much further. In 1975, I had identified Finnish technologies ideally suited for India. I approached a company and also explained to them, as engineering costs in Finland were high, maybe they could work with one of the larger and well established Indian Engineering Consulting companies, to capture the huge Indian market.

I was laughed out of the room - competent Indian Engineering skill?

India got the same technology from a French company.

Another example was when I asked the largest Finnish Sauna manufacturer to quote for the large volume of saunas required by the expanding 5-star hotels opening all over India. I got a negative response. I alerted a Swedish company. For the next 10 years almost every sauna sold in India was from a Swedish manufacturer.

A short while after this happened the Finnish company came running after me as to whether it would be possible to reopen the opportunity as their Brazilian market had suddenly dried up.

Prof. Ajeet Mathur, in his treatise "Finland - India Economic Relations - A Twinning Study of Trade and Investment Potential" published in 1998, pointed out the enormous potential. But again, the Finns have been slow to act and have missed most of the action, thereby not getting much of the deal as other countries capitalised on.

With Amma, Deepak Chopra and a few other leading Indians making waves in Finland, a few films and songs getting shown on Finnish television, the huge advertising campaign of "Incredible India" of BBC World, some inroads of a better perception of India is very slowly taking root amongst the general public.

But the business community realised that they have been losing out. They are desperately trying to expand opportunities in India, as otherwise their international shareholders may start asking uncomfortable questions.

Abhay was of the view that we should alert the Indian Embassy about this.

In my opinion, Finns are the losers if they do not wake up.

So let us not rock the boat.