Going Dutch
You can cross all of Netherlands by car in just three hours. But, the nation is one tenacious giant! A thousand years ago, 60% of the Netherlands was under water. They quite literally filled it all in, building dykes, pumping water out. “God created the world, with the exception of the Netherlands. That the Dutch created themselves,” said Voltaire.
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A nation of few natural resources and a not-so-fertile land, the Netherlands is one of the wealthiest countries in the world today.
Core sectors: Main activities include trading spices and other agri-products as well as textiles.
• Heavy engineering - producing petrochemicals and plastics, synthetic fibres and steel.
• Light industries, such as electronic goods. Philips was born in The Netherlands.
• Technological industries - computing, telecommunications and biotechnology.
• Several international household names such as Shell and KLM originated in the Netherlands.
Many industries started centuries ago—diamond-cutting, shipbuilding and porcelain-making, to name a few—continue to this day.
The Amsterdam-India Connect: While the facilities for business travellers in general have been improved greatly, for companies with business relationships with companies in the Netherlands they have been improved even more. For them there is the Orange Carpet visa facility. Once a company has registered for the facility, their employees do not need to apply for a visa in person, don’t need a confirmed flight reservation and will get a visa with a maximum validity of three years. Dutch companies with subsidiaries in India, Indian companies with a subsidiary in the Netherlands and Indian companies having long-term business relationship with a Dutch company are all eligible to register for the Orange Carpet facility.
Why Amsterdam is a Business Ace:
The Netherlands is that part of Europe where the main rivers come out into the sea. So, it serves as the fulcrum for many internationally operating companies, such as from the US and Japan, and also increasingly for Indian companies, as the place for their European headquarters, and central distribution centers.
Over 50% of central European distribution centers are located in the Netherlands, and Dutch logistics companies take care of over 30% of all cross-border traffic in Europe. For Indian companies, the Netherlands acts as Europe’s front door, making it easy to establish your presence and then reach out to markets across Northern, Central, Southern and Eastern Europe.
As Girish Ramachandran, formerly Director – TCS Europe, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., says in the book ‘Business Adventures in the Netherlands,” “At TCS, we decided to have dual Headquarters in Europe, one in London for UK and one in Amsterdam for continental European operations. We chose Amsterdam for its…
• strategic location
• good infrastructure
• good opportunity for growth
• good airport
• English speaking population
| “Come here with an open mind and a good business proposition – the Dutch have a long historic trading tradition, so they really want to help out and come to a deal. Every Indian businessman should have an open mind, be ready to express clearly what he’s offering and how both parties can gain from the proposition. The Dutch are very seldom formal and business etiquette is really quite informal.” — Gopal Ramanathan
Global Head Transaction Services, KPMG Advisory, Amsterdam, as quoted in the book Business Adventures in the Netherlands |
And most importantly because of its welcoming nature for immigrants.”
Resources:
Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency
www.nfia-india.com
Since the official establishment of its India office in the Embassy of the Netherlands in New Delhi a little over three years ago, NFIA has assisted more than 30 Indian companies, large and small, to set up their operations in the Netherlands. With this knowledge and experience, NFIA can provide even more effective assistance when Indian companies decide to set up operations in Europe. And, as always, those services are confidential and free of charge.
Also check:
www.kvk.nl [Chambers of Commerce]
www.nfia.nl [Investing in the Netherlands]
www.hollandinindia.org.
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