Growth through internationalization – Success stories of European chemical companies in India

Presentation of Dr. Jörg Straßburger at the 10. India Chemical Industry Outlook Conference

European chemical companies suffered in the last decade from the financial crisis and stagnant home markets. From an investors perspective it was disapointing that for a selection of 10 major European chemcial companies the average growth rate from 2007 to 2015 was just reaching 2.4% CAGR. This is particularly astonishing when at the same time the global chemical market has nearly doubled and the Asian chemical market nearly has tripled.

Wheras in the past the strong growth was driven by China the future growth will be by a larger extent driven by India. Dr. Straßburger outlined in his speech five steps European chemical companies should consider if they want to benefit from the Indian market opportunities:

  1. Increase presence in the Indian market to be ready when the growth accelerates
  2. Develop India as a hub for sales in Middle East and Africa
  3. Design and set up low cost production units in India to supply other emerging markets as well
  4. Set up a local sourcing organisation in order to benefit globally from high quality but low cost intermediates
  5. Set up local R&D centers to develop products for the local markets which will allow to cater to market segments which you can not reach with products designed in Europe

That a strong committment to the Indian market is paying back was also shown by Dr. Straßburger in his presentation: Listed Indian entities from European chemical companies were not only growing above market but they were also outperforming local players in the Indian chemical market.

Go East Advisors with their expertise in the chemcial market and focused teams in India and Germany can help you to set up or optimise your existing set-up in India. With own experts in Strategy, Procurement or Engineering and their know-how of the specific challenges and requirements of the Indian business environment they will ensure your projects will be implemented succesfully.