Chinese equipment firms pinning hopes on industrial parks.

Chinese power equipment suppliers, battered by the heavy import duty imposed in 2012 and power plants' mandatory domestic sourcing criteria, are pinning their hopes on the government's decision to set up mega industrial parks in partnership with Chinese companies.

The industrial-park scheme, aimed to revive the Indian manufacturing sector, has given Chinese companies the hope that they will be able to reduce costs by sourcing part of the equipment requirement for boiler-turbine-generator packages for local clients.

The Union Cabinet's in-principle approval to signing of a memorandum of understanding for setting up industrial parks in partnership with the Chinese has come ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit next month. The two sides have already identified five states - Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka - where these parks will be set up.

BS