Chapter 479 - Business Tour in India (1) – Part 2
That day, the business tour group visited a governmental office. It was either India’s Chamber of Commerce & Industry or the Small and Medium Business Administration. The workers there looked definitely cleaner and more elegant than the people on the street. The women there looked gorgeous and sophisticated. Inside the building was cool as well with the air conditioner while it was really hot outside.
“This meeting room is huge.”
“It seems that it could accommodate not only 25 but more than 30 people.”
A female staff member brought some cookies and tea. She had very long eyelashes, and she had a very exotic and impressive look. When the head of the office came into the meeting room, all of the Indian workers quickly stood up. While watching the workers’ attitude and manner toward their boss, Gun-Ho realized that the work environment in India must be authoritarian.
‘Having a good connection with a high-ranking official here must be very useful in doing business in this country.’
The head of the office with a tummy bulge started speaking. He certainly looked arrogant.
“Haryana, which is close to Delhi, is constantly growing, and we welcome foreign investment here.”
After giving a brief speech recommending an investment in Haryana, the head of the office left the meeting room abruptly. Because Gun-Ho missed the opportunity to give the gift to him due to his sudden leave, he left the gift with someone who looked like the second rank in the office.
The street was filled with people; it looked certainly overcrowded. People were selling a huge pancake on the street, which was the size of a tray. There were also many three-wheeled rickshaws seen, which seemed to be used as a taxi there. Gun-Ho heard constant honking of the vehicles that slithered their ways through the crowd.
“They just don’t quit honking.”
“That pancake looks delicious.”
Cows without a bridle were everywhere. They were just walking around on the street.
After lunch, they visited one more place. It was a small company with 200 employees. The business owner looked apparently tired.
“I opened this business just because the labor cost is cheap here.”
“How much cheaper is it?”
“In China, we need to pay at least 600,000 won per person considering the recent increase in the exchange rate. But here, we pay less than 200,000 won.”
‘Factories there should be the same as the ones here. I don’t think I will see anything different or new.’
When Gun-Ho came back to Korea from his trip to India, he talked with President Song.
“It seems to be a good opportunity for us to enter the Indian market; however, it will cost us a lot. We will need to pay the security deposit for a factory in a lump sum, not to mention the cost of equipment. We will need at least 300 million won to start.”
“I agree with you. Egnopak has its own factory in Haryana already. They have experience in running a business there, but we are different. We will have to start from scratch with no experience in the Indian market and business environment specifically.”
“That’s true. It’s easy for them to open another factory in Chennai since they already have one in Haryana.”
“Are you going to tell Egnopak’s president that this is not a good time for GH Mobile to enter the market?”
“I think we shouldn’t give up the Indian market. It is definitely a rising hot market. I think that until we are ready, we can gain our expertise there.”
“I’m with you, sir.”
“Let’s send Dyeon Korea there first. We can send Dyeon Korea’s Interpreter Lee.”
“Interpreter Lee has extensive work experience in a company. I’m sure he will adjust well there. But, we want to give him a position at least as a manager. We are putting him back to the field where he used to work prior to his retirement, and usually, people want at least his last level of position before retirement.”