The Indian Embassy, in association with the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce & Industry, has organized INDIA CATEX-2008 - a multi-sector catalogue exhibition - at the chamber's headquarters here on Tuesday. “This exhibition is to showcase Indian companies to the Saudi market,” said Rajeev Shahare, minister deputy chief of mission from the Indian Embassy. The day-long exhibition showcased catalogs, CDs and other publicity materials of more than 200 Indian companies from various sectors. From air conditioning, animal and poultry, agriculture and food, automotive, chemicals & fertilizers, coir products, cosmetics, electrical, electronics, engineering goods, fasteners, fire and safety, gift items, home appliances, hospitality, construction & construction equipment, turn-key projects, IT and telecommunication, medical and pharmaceuticals, leather goods, machinery and equipment, metal and metal products, packaging, plastic, sanitary wares, public address system, textiles and garments, water and waste management, wood and furniture companies were showcased. A similar exhibition was recently showcased in Dammam and a third exhibition will be held in Hail at the beginning of May. Some 300 businessmen visited the Dammam exhibition and much more were expected to visit the Riyadh showcase. In an attempt to keep Saudi businessmen's interest in Indian companies, the embassy has been organizing such exhibition every 4 months. According to Shahare, Saudi businessmen are interested in a multi-faceted variety of Indian products, escpecially in areas which are link to the growth of the Kingdom. “There is a great interest in construction companies, equipment and building materials,” he added. Expertise in the IT field and enabled services are second on the list followed by water treatment, equipment and transport. Engineering services, auto motor, drug and pharmaceuticals and agriculture products have been of traditional interest among Saudi businessmen and remains so, he further said. India is currently the 5th largest trading partner for Saudi Arabia with bilateral trade in 2006-2007 reached $15.97 billion. Meanwhile, Indian entities offering a range of financial services continue to eye the NRI and HNI segments in the Gulf countries. On the face of it, one might wonder why, but the astute planners still see a lot of potential in the overseas Indian segment as well as have a lot of confidence in the countyr's developments. __
