India woos companies that are leaving China

THE migration of global companies out of China has begun as they are worried about rising labour costs in that country and the disruption of their supply lines caused by the coronavirus pandemic. India is making a powerful pitch to benefit from the shift.

In an early-bird example, the German firm Casa Everz, the producer of the healthy footwear brand Von Wellx, is moving its entire production from China to India, signalling a successful beginning to the Indian government's push to woo companies that are anyway leaving China.

The Von Wellx factory is being set up in the city of Agra in Uttar Pradesh state in collaboration with the Indian firm Latric Industries which will market the brand that is sold in over 80 countries and has more than 100 million customers. Udaybhan Singh, the Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Uttar Pradesh, welcomed the German company that would help create over 10,000 direct and indirect jobs.