Australian mining companies ‘prefer India over China’

India is a preferred business destination compared with China as the companies here are more transparent, honest, cost-effective and work in a legal framework which is similar for both the countries due to British history, said a representative of a business delegation on mining equipment from Western Australia, a global leader in mining.

Clayton Franklin, Founder and Chief Engineer of EPCA, is a part of Australia’s first-ever ‘First Nations Business Mission to India’. First nations mean the businesses owned by the aboriginals of the country. This mission includes the owners of eight Australian Mining Equipment, Technology and Services companies (METS) from Western Australia, who are on a week-long visit from October 28 to November 3, to the Indian cities of Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata. The aim of the visit is the strengthening of trade and investment opportunities between Australia’s First Nations people and India’s mining and renewable energy markets.

“We can work together with India. When we go to China, we see that China is getting more expensive. We also see that we are, I won’t say ripped off, but we get somewhat lied to. They are not completely honest with us. They don’t abide by patent laws, IP. When we deal with an Indian company, we find that they have come out of the U.K. system. The laws are very common. We have that common ground and we like that. There is no language barrier. We converse and get things done. The impression that we get ripped off by an Indian company is farther from the truth. A lot of them running similar to a western company. There is no corruption that I have seen. We like that aspect of India as well. We know what we are getting into, and we can do business very easily,” Mr. Franklin said. His company provides solutions for zero-emissions in mining equipment conversions worldwide, and sees business opportunity in the retro-fitting of India’s 100-tonne electric trucks used for mining.

Chris Schmid, Managing Director of Woollahra Group which manufactures and distributes cleaning, janitorial and hygiene products, saw India as an opportunity to reduce not just the logistic and inventory costs by 75%, but also the carbon footprint. “China has been an institutionalised avenue for imports for western Australia for the last 20 years. But the supply chain is for four months. If we have to import anything, the investment in terms of stock requirement holding is four months. So, we are outlaying four months of capital investment for China. India has the capability to provide an alternative so we can reduce our supply chain investment from four months to one month. We share the Indian Ocean. I am really excited about the opportunities to see what we can source from India and bring to western Australia, which is the largest resource in mining sector in the world,” he said.

“It is not just time and cost, but also carbon. To bring things from some place four months away to some place one month, that is a 75% reduction in carbon logistics. We look at tender opportunities and opportunities to reduce environmental footprint,” he added.