Sydney—Following a recent visit to India for the launch of Dentons’ combination with Link Legal, Dentons Australia Chair and Australasia Region CEO, Doug Stipanicev highlighted the opportunities for trade and business services between Australia and India.

India is currently undergoing a huge period of growth, with extensive construction projects around the country, all of which point towards a bright future for the country.

Highlighting the quality and sophistication of Indian businesses, Mr. Stipanicev believes hat the opportunity India presents for Australian businesses and legal services are hard to understate.

“Business connections with India are currently where China was in the nineties, when its markets gradually opened and every business scrambled to take advantage of it burgeoning middle class.”

“As a democracy, with an independent and familiar legal system, a growing economy and a population of over 1.3 billion people, the potential in India for Australian business and legal services should be even greater than that of China and well beyond the traditional exports of coal and agriculture,” he continued.

The last free trade agreement between Australia and India only came into effect at the end of last year and saw a dramatic decrease in tariffs which is targeted to ultimately result in trade between the two countries of $100 billion per year.

While this is already boosting Australia’s traditional exports of resources and agriculture, it is also the first step in dramatically opening up such as technology and business services that will greatly benefit both countries, and where Mr. Stipanicev believes the biggest opportunities lie.

In the legal field, India has made the biggest reforms in over a century, not only introducing greater efficiency and transparency to its once archaic court process, but also starting to open its legal and professional services market to international participation.

In the last free trade agreement this included professional services such as tax, architecture and urban planning, with this only being the beginning. For the first time global legal and professional service brands such as Dentons have offices on the ground and the opportunity flow is both ways as an agreement on the protection of intellectual property has made joint ventures far more attractive. This creates the opportunity to work with local businesses to open up investment, trade and partnership in value added goods, business services and technology for the first time.

Mr. Stipanicev also believes that Prime Minister Modi's recent visit to Australia emphasizes the ambitious plans of building business links between the two countries. This presents an excellent opportunity for Australian businesses to tap into the vast Indian market and for Australian legal firms to help modernize the Indian legal market.

While the prospects for growth and expansion are significant, Mr. Stipanicev calls out challenges that need to be overcome, particularly with regards to the regulatory environment and differences in business culture.

“Australian businesses must ensure they receive accurate local market advice and understand how legislation and regulations apply, particularly as these can vary significantly across India’s states. Access to local law firms who are part of the communities in which they work, will be crucial for Australian businesses wanting to expand.”

“With India committed to improving the ease of doing business, and with collaborative efforts between Australian and Indian governments and businesses, the opportunities are endless,” concluded Mr. Stipanicev.

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