Invitation to next meeting of GIRT Hamburg on 27th May 2013

Quo vadis India? Deliberations on the Road Ahead

Dear friends of GIRT Hamburg,

We cordially invite you to the next meeting of German-Indian Round Table in Hamburg on 27th of May (18:30h). Considering that past few weeks and months have witnessed mixed reporting on India in Germany, a feeling of uncertainty has been created in some quarters. Concerns have been raised about issues such as the protection of intellectual property, ease of doing business, slowing pace of economic growth, and even of personal safety of women in India. The volume of bilateral trade too has gone down the previous year.

And yet, there seems to be a clear silver line on the horizon, as expressed by the strong fundamentals of India’s geography, demography, polity, and economy. In this meeting we intend to discuss, why despite all challenges – perceived or real – India continues to remain a resilient and attractive destination of choice for businesses seeking new and stable business models, valuable impulses for product and service innovations, and as a source of foreign direct investments (FDI). To put it in a nutshell, given the global socio-economic conditions Indo-German bilateral relations offer opportunities on a scale never witnessed before.

It is our pleasure to welcome Mr. Mukesh Ambasta, the Acting Consul General of India in Hamburg, as our guest that evening to share insights on policy measures and other efforts India is undertaking to revert to its targeted trajectory of growth. His talk would be preceded by a brief overview of recent economic developments in India upon completion of the fiscal year 2012-13 by Dr. Rajnish Tiwari, Head of GIRT Hamburg.

We will also utilize this opportunity to inform our members about the upcoming “India Week Hamburg”, scheduled to be celebrated from 7th to 15th September 2013, which is – as in previous years – co-organized by GIRT Hamburg in close collaboration with institutional players such as the Senate Chancellery and Ministry of Culture of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, and the Hamburg Business Development Corporation (HWF) along with many other valued partners from the Metropolitan Region.

As usual, this GIRT meeting will take place in Hotel Baseler Hof (Esplanade 11, 20354 Hamburg). In case of interest please write to tiwari@tuhh.de. Owing to space constraints we reserve the right to admission and will explicitly confirm accepted registrations. Please also note that GIRT meetings are held as a “Stammtisch” which means there is no entry or participation fee but the participants are expected to consume their evening meal at the venue and pay for one’s own consumption.

Looking forward to an interesting and informative get together!

With kind regards,
Rajnish Tiwari

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Indo-German Trade has grown significantly

According to a report by Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Germany’s trade with the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) has grown 7-folds within past 15 years (between 1996-2011). In comparison the trade volume as a whole grew only 2.5 folds.

Trade with India also registered significant growth. While German exports to India rose from € 2.4 billion in 1996 to € 10.9 billion in 2011, Indian exports to Germany rose from €2.0 billion to € 7.5 billion in the same period.

Detailed information  in German are available in press release issued by FSO on 29.08.2012.

An English version without detailed information on the matter (but contact details for further enquiries and methodological description) is also available at FSO website.

GIRT supports study on negotiation strategies and tactics in the Indo-German Context

Dear friends of India,
Dear friends of Germany,

IIM Bangalore together with University of St. Gallen is conducting a study with an online-questionnaire regarding „Negotiation Strategies & Tactics in the Indian-German Context“. The study addresses an important business matter and is undertaken with support of GIRT. It is unique in that it attempts to bring face to face the „German“ view and the „Indian“ view of a number of important points during a typical business negotiation. Hence, the results can be very helpful – both retrospectively and forward looking. I request your support of this study, which will also promote GIRT’s visibility in the field.

The same team of scientists has already published an interesting study (http://www.sicc.ch/documents/120109-SMEPlatformStudyExecutiveSummary.pdf ) on „Market Entry Challenges for Swiss Companies“ with interesting results.

Prof. Roger Moser, who supervises the study, has told me that he believes it will take half an hour of your time to run through the online-questionnaire. The attached e-mail gives you two links to select from: one, if you want to contribute from a „German“ point of view, the other one, if you want to participate from an „Indian“ point of view.

Prof. Moser has also offered to present the results at one of your GIRT meetings.

Best regards,

Dr. Andreas Waldraff
Chairman, German-Indian Round Table
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Study: Negotiation Strategies & Tactics in the German-Indian Context / Verhandlungsstrategien und -taktiken im Deutsch-Indischen Kontext
Dear Sir or Madam
Negotiations have always been a critical part when doing business. In a globalized world, however, business negotiations enter a new dimension. This makes negotiations even more complex. Our study examines which negotiation strategies and tactics in the Indian-German context work best, integrating experiences and perceptions from Indian and German/Swiss managers.
We therefore would like to invite you to participate in this study reflecting upon your expertise and experiences in the Indian-German business context.
The questionnaire takes around 25-35 minutes. It covers the brief evaluation of four basic negotiation strategies and in more detail the appropriateness of five out of ten randomly assigned negotiation tactics in the Indian-German context in order to minimize your time investment.
All participants receive an exclusive summary of the study results not only for five but all ten evaluated negotiation tactics!
This is a joint research project of the University of St. Gallen, EBS Business School and IIM Bangalore kindly supported by the German-Indian Round Table.
For any questions, please feel free to contact Mr. Carl Cohrssen (carl.cohrssen@ebs.de).
The online survey is accessible until April 27th, 2012 through one of the following two links:
https://qtrial.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_575oDIanvfwoel6   (Link zur Studie in Deutsch mit Deutscher/Schweizer Perspektive)
http://survey.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_6WjTcscTdDeIo0Q   (Link to Study in English evaluating the Indian Perspective)
Each participant only needs to fill in one of the two questionnaires based on her/his origin.
We thank you very much for your support.
Kind regards

Dr. Roger Moser
India Competence Center, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland
Strategy & SCM, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, India
Roger.Moser@unisg.ch
Roger.Moser@iimb.ernet.in

Indo-German Trade Continues its Dream Run in 2011

The bilateral trade volume in calendar year 2011 is estimated to have stood at €18.4 billion, up from €15.5 billion in 2010, thereby registering a staggering growth of 18.7%. The growth in bilateral exports and imports outperformed the overall growth in Germany’s trade with the rest of the world. While Germany’s exports to India grew by 17.1% on yearly basis and stood at €10.87 billion, the imports grew by 20.2% reaching €7.5 billion.

Read the complete report titled „Indo-German Trade Continues its Dream Run in 2011: Bilateral business defies financial crisis and economic slowdown„.