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HAL plans to take Dhruv to Latin American market

Latin America is the the next big stop for Indian firms looking to expand their operations overseas.

HAL plans to take Dhruv to Latin American market

Latin America is the the next big stop for Indian firms looking to expand their operations overseas.

After a clutch of automobile and energy sector investments in the region, state-owned aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) is now eyeing this lucrative market with its indigenously developed advanced light helicopter Dhruv.

According to RK Tyagi, chairman, HAL, the company participated in an international competitive bidding tender in Ecuador and was successful in bagging the contract for export of seven Dhruv helicopters to the country to be operated by the Ecuadorian Air Force.

?HAL is in contact with other potential customers in the region and business prospects are being pursued in other Latin American countries such as Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Brazil etc,? Tyagi added.

The HAL strategy in the region would be two fold. First, it would secure orders for advanced aerospace equipment. And once this generates enough interest in the region, the company would scout for location to set up a manufacturing base. Several countries, where HAL is exploring export orders, have already indicated their intent to allow the Indian entity to set up a manufacturing facility.

HAL’s renewed interest in the region assumes significance as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Brazil for the BRICS summit where he is likely to push for enhanced trade between India and other countries in the region.

India is also looking at increasing the share of hi-tech and high value-added defence exports to Latin American countries as part of a rejig of its national strategy on local defence production. The commerce ministry has already indicated its intent of moving Indian exports away from shipments of traditional items without much value-addition. In this regard an incentive scheme is being consider to give a boost to exports of hi-tech and high value-added defence exports in the forthcoming Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) for the period 2014-19.

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First published on: 03-07-2014 at 02:11 IST
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