Town of Markham

REPORT TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

 

 

TO:

Mayor and Members of Council

 

 

FROM:

Stephen Chait, Director of Economic Development

 

 

PREPARED BY:

Stephen Chait, Director of Economic Development

 

 

DATE OF MEETING:

2004-October-25

 

 

SUBJECT:

2005 GTMA Mission to India

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATIONS:

That the report entitled “2005 GTMA Mission to India” be received,

 

And that pre-budget approval be given to one member of Council and the Economic Development Director to represent Markham as part of a Greater Toronto Area business delegation at a cost not to exceed $12,900 to be funded as follows: $11,900 from within the 2005 base budget Business Travel account #610-9985201 and $1,000 from within the 2005 base budget Business Development account #610-9985808.

 

 

DISCUSSION:

 

The Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance (GTMA) is planning to undertake an exploratory mission to India in February 2005

 

The GTMA is a partnership of corporate and governmental organizations with a mandate to attract new foreign investment to the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).  It pursues its mandate by undertaking initiatives and programs to promote the competitive advantages of the GTA, assist investors to establish themselves in the GTA and provides its partners and sponsors opportunities to help grow their businesses.  The GTMA helps to expand the GTA economy by raising the profile of the region internationally by building relationships with overseas organizations and firms to encourage them to consider the GTA as part of their global strategy to do business in the NAFTA markets. 

 

As part of its 2005 initiatives, the GTMA is developing a multi-year program - the “Investment Attraction - India” initiative.  The purpose of this initiative is to“promote the GTA as a preferred location to invest in and to secure new investment by Indian companies and institutions to the GTA”. Industry clusters of interest to Markham include Information & Communications Technology (ICT), Advanced Manufacturing, and Biotechnology, as well as pure office activities such as regional headquarters and back office operations.

 

The focus of the exploratory mission is to make face-to-face contacts with key decision makers in India in order to better understand the primary motivating factors of Indian companies in making foreign direct decisions (FDI), especially for potentially attracting investment opportunities from India to the GTA. In addition, the GTMA’s team of industry experts and business partners will make presentations on the excellence of the GTA as a preferred location for investment and complementary “near-shoring opportunities” (i.e., out of country business solutions to serve the US market).

 

 

The mission will provide Markham with advantages in attracting investment from and encouraging trade with the Indian sub-continent

 

The Town of Markham recently received a letter of invitation from the GTMA inviting the Town’s direct participation in the first investment attraction mission to India (see Attachment One). The GTMA staff is recruiting GTA companies and organizations that can benefit from establishing strong linkages to India.  In India, the GTMA is working with the Canadian High Commission and key Indian business associations to facilitate an outstanding program for the mission’s delegates.

 

The mission aims to build relationships and alliances in the region.  It will start and end in New Delhi and in between will include visits to Bangalore, Chennai (Madras) and Mumbai (Bombay).  It will afford delegates the opportunity to meet and make presentations to regional industry clusters and participate in briefing sessions to help us get a first hand understanding of the India economy and corporate India’s plans to “go global”. Seminars are also being planned to profile the GTA, present the business case for investment in the region and introduce the GTMA’s partners, sponsors and delegates on the mission.  Where possible, match-making sessions will take place and pre-qualified meetings with prospect decision makers will be organized. Selected mission members, especially those with specific industry expertise related to the meeting topic, will be invited to participate. A number of networking opportunities for all will also be arranged. 

 

The draft itinerary is as follows:

 

Date                       Location                   Activities                                                                                                                               

Jan. 31                    New Delhi                Focus on learning about India and FDI decisions

Feb.1-3                   Chennai                    Focus on Infotech and business processing outsourcing

Feb. 3-5                  Bangalore                Focus on Infotech and business processing outsourcing

Feb. 5-6                  Hyderabad               Focus on Infotech and business processing outsourcing, and biotech

Feb. 7-10                Mumbai                    Focus on Infotech and business processing outsourcing  (NASSCOM trade show)

Feb. 11-13              New Delhi                Focus on biotech, energy, environment, and automotive

 

The GTMA has estimated the per person cost to participate in this mission as follows:

 

Round trip airfare to India             $2,100-$2,500

Internal flights within India             $500 (based on discount arrangement)

Hotel                                            $225-$250/night

Fees*                                           $2,000 per city or $3,000 per week

Food, etc.                                    $100/day

*Fees include: ground transportation, admission to trade shows, assistance of mission organizers, delegate brochure, GTMA overhead, etc.

 

In order to optimize the value of the mission for Markham, and to reduce the overall cost, it is proposed that the Markham delegates restrict their participation to a 6 day period, and focus specifically on major centres of ICT and biotech. Therefore, it is recommended that Markham delegates participate in the activities scheduled for Hyderabad and Mumbai.

 

 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS

 

The cost of sending the Economic Development Director and one member of Council to participate in the GTMA mission to India will not exceed $12,900 and is to be funded as follows: $11,900 from within the 2005 base budget Business Travel account #610-9985201 and $1,000 from within the 2005 base budget Business Development account #610-9985808. This cost is inclusive of the price of airfare, food and overnight accommodation, ground transportation, and any incidentals pertaining to the rental of equipment required to make presentations. All figures are quoted in Canadian dollars.

 

Estimated costs (6.5 days):

              Airfare                                $2,500 x 2                               $5,000

              Hotel                                  $225 x 2 x 6                            $2,700

              Food                                  $100 x 2 x 6                            $1,200

                                                                                                        $8,900

              GTMA fees                        $3,000 (negotiable)                  $3,000

              Equipment, rentals, etc.                                                       $1,000

              Total                                                                                $12,900

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

____________________________________                                _________________________________

Stephen Chait                                                                                   Jim Baird

Director of Economic Development                                                   Commissioner, Development Services

 

Attachments

1. By Invitation Only: Exploratory Investment Attraction Mission to India