12th October 2015, New Delhi:  PRO Ecuador, Institute for Export and Investment Promotion, today in the capital city of New Delhi, showcased the countries products and the upcoming investment opportunities for companies across India. India has emerged as an upcoming source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for Ecuador.

Marking inroads towards new business avenues, Mr. Borys Mejia – Special Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Trade, Mr. Mentor Villagomez, Ambassador of Ecuador and Mr. Hector Cueva, Consul General and Trade Commissioner of the Consulate of Ecuador in India participated in the conclave of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) held for the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) countries for enhancement of economic engagement between India and the LAC regions. During this conclave, they emphasized on the benefits of bilateral trade and investing in Ecuador.  Some of the sectors where there is a great scope for trade and investment are pharmaceuticals, food and drink, wood and IT services. The strong investment portfolio of Ecuador is established by the stable rating of B, given to the country by Standard and Poor (S&P).

Mr. Mentor Villagomez, Ambassador of Ecuador in India said, “India and Ecuador share a highly collaborative relationship, fuelling the prosperity of both countries and we greatly value our association and look forward to a long-standing relationship with India. The fact that in 2014-15 Indian companies were seeking to invest in Ecuador is a tremendous testimony to the strength of our ties, while we also noticed bilateral trade interest between the two countries, proving a two-way relationship. As India is an interesting market for our exportable offer, we will explore various avenues to maximize our resources and the service sector in Ecuador.”

Mr. Hector Cueva, Trade Commissioner of the Commercial office of Ecuador, said “At a time when global FDI flows have fallen, investors from India understand that Ecuador is welcoming, diverse and open for business. We will create great opportunities for India and help in increasing the bilateral relationship between India and Ecuador.

Previously, India and the Central Bank of Ecuador noticed an exponential growth in the imports of Ecuadorian cocoa in 2014. During that period India imported Ecuadorian cocoa worth USD 12.39 million. ”

Over the years, Indian industries have looked at strengthening their portfolio through various benefits offered to investors in Ecuador. Investment regulations in Ecuador have been expanded in an effort to attract foreign investments. The numerous and smoothly implanted ways for investing have established the country as one of most convenient locations for overseas investment.

The visit concluded with the signing of the JETCO agreement (Joint Economic and Trade Committee). The Ambassador of Ecuador to India, H.E. Mr. Mentor Villagomez met Ms. Rita Teotia, Commerce Secretary, Government of India on 9th October, 2015 and discussed measures to enhance bilateral trade and investment relations between both the countries. During the year 2014-15, the bilateral trade between the two countries stood at US $ 1290.77 million.

The objective of the JETCO is to create a mechanism in order to discuss initiatives to improve economic relations between the two countries including the facilitation of trade and investments. The two governments will meet regularly with the aim of further improving, deepening and strengthening the existing trade relationship between India and Ecuador. The first meeting of the JETCO is proposed to be held in February 2016, in India.

PRO Ecuador will continue to explore the Indian investment markets and look at building the countries ties and increase the scope of trade. PRO Ecuador considers the globe as its potential market and is working towards creating a strong threshold in the Indian markets.

About PRO ECUADOR:

PRO ECUADOR is the Institute for the Promotion of Trade and Investment, part of the Ministry of Foreign Trade, responsible for promoting exports, investments and tourism of the country. It has 30 offices worldwide, in the US, China, Germany, India, UAE and several other leading markets, who focus on investigation, negotiation and the opening of markets. 
PRO ECUADOR seeks to position Ecuador as a provider of products and services of high quality and added value, with an emphasis on the diversification of products, markets and the attraction of foreign investment.

For more information, please visit – http://www.proecuador.gob.ec/en/

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 NEW DELHI, July 1, 2014. Senior officials of the Department of Commerce and over 100 pharmaceutical companies will showcase the giant strides taken by the pharma sector at the ‘Brand India Pharma’ show at the Interphex and Inpharma trade show in Tokyo from July 2 to 4, 2014. The industry standard shows are perceived as an appropriate platform to connect with the Japanese market and showcase the best manufacturing and research capabilities of Indian Pharmaceutical market.

The Indian official delegation to the pharma trade exhibition is led by Mr. Rajeev Kher, Commerce Secretary , while the industry delegation is headed by Mr. Habil Khorakiwala, Past President, FICCI and Chairman, Wockhardt Ltd. The other officers accompanying the Commerce Secretary are the Joint Secretary, DOC Mr. Asit Tripathy and Director, DOC Mr. Sanjeet Singh.

The ‘Brand India Pharma’ campaign of the Government of India is a significant initiative armed at highlighting the value proposition that the Indian pharma sector presents to the global market. The global launch of Brand India Pharma took place on March 21, 2012 in Tokyo. The campaign was a significant initiative under the aegis of the Department of Commerce, Government of India, to highlight the value proposition that Brand India Pharma presents today for, Globally. 

While there is a huge potential in the regulated markets, the developments of the last three to four years have demonstrated the necessity for diversification. This new dimension of India’s strategy coincides  with developments in Japan. Given the heavy pressure on the health requirements, especially its aging population, Japan, which is a US$ 119 billion market, of which generics constitute 11%, has decided to enlarge its generics portfolio. Japan today represents an opportunity for the Indian pharmaceutical industry. India’s CEPA with Japan, which is a conscious agreement to mutually increase cooperation in the pharma sector, an element of this is the fact that Japan has extended national treatment to Indian companies.

Parallely, India is recognized for its role in the public health sector, which comprises three elements, namely:

1. Coverage of a wide expanse of health profile;
2. Indian medicines are very affordable
3. Quality of Indian medicines is recognized. For example, India, with a 35 per cent share, ranks the highest in terms of filings of (Drug Master File) DMF filed with USFDA. 25% of the manufacturing sites registered with EDQM are from India. 

The Government and industry in India propose sustaining the Brand India Pharma campaign in Japan at two levels:

1. Formal Government to Government level wherein we are proposing materialisation of commitments made by India and Japan under CEPA to develop into a roadmap for cooperation and dialogue. The Indian government is keen to enter into a dialogue with its counterparts and this will also include inviting Japanese to invest in Indian greenfield projects.

1. Business-to-business level where the Indian government would support its exporters to locate market opportunities and invite Japanese buyers for first hand insights of the regulatory regimes and manufacturing capacities in India.

India would also like to inform the Japanese regulatory agencies about Indian regulations so that mutual confidence on quality is assured. This is because India realises Japan is a quality conscious market and respects the same.

India is a producer of high-quality affordable medicines and a leading supplier to both developed and developing nations across the globe. Interesting facts on the successes and achievements of the Indian pharma industry would prove to be an eye opener for some  – Eight out of top 25 generic companies across the world are from India; every third tablet produced in the world is made in India; every third child in the world is getting Indian vaccines; India has the highest number of USFDA facilities outside US and many more.

The domestic pharma market is estimated to touch US$49 billion by 2020. The projected human resource requirement to match this growth is estimated at 21,50,000 by 2020.

The Government of India has taken a series of measures to meet the projected demand of pharma professionals in the future. The Department of Pharmaceuticals has projected an investment Rs 3,000 crore (US$ 478.4 million) to set up 10 more National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) over the next few years to strengthen the human resource base.

Clinical Research Education and Management Academy (CREMA) is another institute, which exclusively provides courses specific to clinical research and healthcare management. It is amongst the first institutions dedicated to promoting high quality clinical research & healthcare management education.

Scholarships programmes are awarded to the meritorious students, which help inculcate a competitive spirit amongst students pursuing higher education.

The introduction of Pharm D programme along with the revised framework of Indian pharmacy education is expected to ensure quality human resources meeting global standards.

This huge growth in generics production has seen the country become a hotbed of manufacturing innovation – India has over 3400 DMFs registered with USFDA. After considerable amount of Success in Para 4 filings (first to file generics) with over 30 such filings between 2009-2011, India’s Pharmaceutical industry is now looking at developing super Generics. This requires filing a product under section 505 (b) (2) of USFDA. A successful filing may fetch 3 to 5 years of Patent protection. Some of the market research reports puts the global market in the calendar year 2013 at $15 billion for this differential generics popularly termed as super Generics.

With the world’s pharmaceutical development manufacturing base moving to India – there are 546 US FDA approved company sites (second only to the US), 23 companies holding 1100 authorisations with UK’s MHRA, and 166 companies together hold over 1100 CEPs (Certificates of Suitability) from EDQM – coupled with the rise in supergenerics, the country’s next natural step is to use its world leading development expertise in the creation of new chemical entities.

Recognising this opportunity, the Government of India is putting in place supportive initiatives with the goal of cementing the country’s position as the ‘pharmacy of the world’ and creating a global innovation hub. With generics predicted to rise to 35% of global pharmaceutical market value by 2016 (some $400bn+), and with an CAGR growth rate of 22% amongst Indian generics exports during the last five years ending FY -14 Comparing very favorably with the average of 10% the Government is forecasting much of this revenue will be reinvested across the country in new research- leading to a steady pipeline of future drug targets.

Steps have also been taken to streamline procedures covering development of new drug molecules and clinical research- including two schemes ‘New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative’ and the ‘Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Research Programme’, which has been specially targeted at drugs and pharmaceutical research.

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