March 2014March 2014

10 Meet the Ambassador

nand Mahindra was appointed anHonorary Ambassador of

Foreign Investment for Koreain 2011. He is the Chairman

& Managing Director ofMahindra & Mahindra, a multinational Indianautomobile manufacturer headquartered inMumbai, India and part of the MahindraGroup, a USD 16.7 billion organization andone of India’s top 10 industrial houses. TheMahindra Group acquired a controlling stakein Korea’s SsangYong Motor Company(SYMC) in 2010.

For more than two years, Mahindra hasbeen instrumental in promoting Korea as aninvestment destination for Indian companiesand working to deepen economic cooperationbetween India and Korea. We talked toMahindra about his work as an HonoraryAmbassador, his views on Korea and histhoughts on Korea-India relations, which hecalls economically “symbiotic.”

You’ve been an HonoraryAmbassador of Foreign Investmentfor Korea since 2011. How wouldyou describe your journey as anambassador thus far?

I feel privileged to have been the HonoraryAmbassador of Foreign Investment for Koreasince 2011.

I became the Honorary Ambassador soonafter the Mahindra Group’s automotive busi-ness acquired a controlling stake inSsangYong Motor Company and that experi-ence has certainly played an important role in

converting me into a vocal advocate of Koreain domestic and international forums.

However, I must admit that the experienceof trying to attract investment into a devel-oped country like Korea is very different fromattracting capital to a developing country likeIndia. “Brand Korea” is well entrenched inglobal markets and Korean products are ahighly regarded symbol of quality, technolo-gy and innovation across the world today.

So, even as fiscal concerns overshadowedthe global economy over the past few years, Iam optimistic that Korea will be one of thefirst ports of call as investment activity picksup and as competition intensifies to capturethe Asian market. Given its capabilities inengineering and technology and its reputationfor quality and innovation, I see Korea as anideal destination for investment for everyglobal multinational.

What were your goals for Korea-India relations when you were firstappointed ambassador more thantwo years ago? As we embark ona new year, what are your goalstoday?

Over the last two years, India and Koreahave been able to lay a very strong foundationfor their relationship.

India’s strategic relationship with Koreafocuses not only on the economic sphere, butalso encompasses cooperation in cultural,research and development, military and geo-political arenas.

India-Korea trade is already greater thanUSD 18 billion, and with the ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership Agreement signed in2009, ties between Asia’s 3rd and 4th largesteconomies are bound to increase even further.The deepening of this relationship was furthercemented during President Park Geun-hye’svisit to India in January this year.

As we embark on a new year, I hope toplay a role in further deepening the relation-ship so that the two countries can worktogether to help make Asia the engine ofgrowth of the world economy.

During your meeting with Korean

President Park Geun-hye inJanuary, you expressed your opin-ions about the potential of the eco-nomic relationship between Koreaand India. Can you expand onthis? How can our countries togeth-er help Asia become a growthengine of the global economy?

India and Korea are, in a sense, at oppositeends of the development spectrum.

Korea has made remarkable strides in itseconomic development over the past threedecades. From 1980 to 2010, Korea’s GDPexpanded from a mere USD 88 billion toUSD 1.46 trillion. In that same timeframe,Korea went from being a recipient of devel-opment assistance to becoming one of itsmajor donors. Despite a small population anda paucity of natural resources, Korea was ableto achieve this transformation by investing inindustries like heavy engineering and high-end technology, which have made it a globalexport powerhouse. Today exports accountfor over half the GDP and Korean companiesare constantly on the lookout for new marketsfor their products.

India, with its large population, offers alarge market for these goods and services.India would like to replicate the type ofgrowth Korea saw in the 1980s and 90s.However it needs modern technology andinfrastructure in order to achieve this and toensure that the benefits of growth are deliv-ered to its dispersed population.

Therefore, India and Korea provide eachother a very symbiotic economic relationship.If Korean technology and innovation canwork to address India’s infrastructure anddevelopmental challenges, they can togetherfind the secret sauce that can, in fact, bedeployed across Asia, helping the continentbecome a growth engine for the global econo-my.

Why should Indians invest inKorea? What Korean sectors aremost attractive to Indians andwhy?

India and Korea have much to offer eachother.

Korean multinationals like Samsung, LG

Q&A With Anand Mahindra

and Hyundai have demonstrated that India'sbillion-plus population can be a large, attrac-tive market for Korean products.

And as I said earlier, “Brand Korea” isalready well established in global marketswhereas “Brand India” can learn some veryvaluable lessons from Korea and shorten itslearning curve. Indian companies can drawfrom the experience of Korean companies andimprove their quality, innovation, processes,etc. besides understanding new age sectorslike technology, heavy engineering, etc.where Korean companies hold a significantleadership position.

Having a presence in Korea for this pur-pose becomes a necessity, and given theMahindra Group's own experience, I wouldstrongly urge Indian corporations to establisha presence and invest in Korea.

As for Mahindra Group, whatinvestments in Korea are on thehorizon for the future?

The Mahindra Group already has a largeinvestment in Korea through its stake inSYMC. The turnaround in the fortunes ofSYMC has been remarkable and speaks vol-umes about the commitment and hard work ofour SYMC colleagues. This also enabled usto rehire some workers who were on unpaidleave due to the company’s financial woes.We remain committed to SYMC and ourinvestment plans in the automotive space willbe determined by the long-term strategy con-siderations required to support SYMC's busi-ness plans.

However, the Mahindra Group hasn’t

restricted itself only to the automotive sectorin Korea. Our Group company, Mahindra &Mahindra Financial Services Ltd., recentlysigned a memorandum of understanding withthe Seoul-based Woori Financial to evaluatethe feasibility of setting up a joint venture toprovide financing solutions to the customersof SYMC vehicles.

Even in sectors where the Mahindra Groupmay not be present, we have been encourag-ing closer business relationships with Korea.For example, I have been promoting theKorean auto components industry withinIndia and the Mahindra Group itself has start-ed sourcing components and encouragingalliances with several Korean suppliers.

What are three words that cometo mind when you think ‘Korea,’and why?

My impressions of Korea have beenformed by the Mahindra Group’s experiencewith SYMC and my personal experience withKorean culture and Korean brands.

Therefore the three words that come to mymind when I think of Korea are commitment,innovation and adaptability. I will explainwhy.

My experience with SYMC has shown howmeticulous Koreans are in their planningprocess. Our Korean colleagues at SYMC, forexample, are known to stick to the commit-ments they make, despite any challenges thatthey may be confronted with.

Similarly, the fact that Samsung is the only

true competition to Apple in today’s highlycompetitive and fast-moving cell phone mar-ket is a testimony to the innovative capabili-ties of Koreans.

And finally, the people of this intelligent,hard-working nation also know how to adaptand keep pace with the times, rather thanbeing restricted by their culture and customs.The success of artists like Psy and his“Gangnam Style” video had not just theKoreans, but the world shaking a leg to itsbeats.

What are some similarit iesbetween Indian culture andKorean culture?

Cultures are formed over protracted periodsof time and given that both India and Koreahave long histories, one can identify innumer-able similarities between the two cultures.

Both cultures place a tremendous impor-tance on the family as a close-knit unit andemphasize the importance of education. Evenwithin education, I was surprised to note theemphasis on memorization and the preva-lence of several highly competitive entranceexaminations, which I thought were the baneof the Indian education system. I found theyare very common in Korea as well.

In fact, the similarities are so numerous thatthey extend to the business arena, too. Whilethe Korean industry is dominated by businessgroups (chaebols), the Indian corporate land-scape also has a large number of family-man-aged businesses. In fact, the Mahindra Groupitself was founded by my grandfather andgranduncle in 1945. In hindsight, probably, itis the similar approaches to business and thelonger-term outlook that business groupsbring that enabled us to cope with the situa-tion at SYMC so well.

All the more reason why more Indian cor-porations should be investing in Korea.

I’ve read that you enjoy worldcinema. What is your favoriteKorean movie?

The movie I enjoyed immensely is the2009 movie called “Mother,” or, to use itsoriginal title, “Ma-deo.”

By Young Changyoung.chang@kotra.or.kr

Meet the Ambassador 11

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