India better placed than Asian peers for Japanese FDI: Deloitte exec

India has emerged as a major investment hub for Japanese businesses exploring a "China-plus" supply chain strategy, Kenichi Kimura, chief executive officer of Deloitte Japan, said in an interview highlighting the steep increase in Japanese FDI into India in recent years.

- Gireesh Chandra Prasad

Kimura, who was on a visit to India, said in the capital on Friday that India has the advantage of a big domestic market, which some of the other emerging Asian economies do not have. In addition, India also acts as a gateway for Japanese factories to export to the Middle East and Africa, which puts India in a sweet spot.

Figures speak volumes about the realignment of investment taking place in Asia. Data available from Japan's finance ministry showed India received 706.9 billion Japanese yen or over $5 billion in FDI from Japan in 2023, overtaking Japan's FDI into China and Hong Kong in that year, which stood at nearly 502 billion yen or roughly $3.6 billion.