India comes to Wallonia

Belgium is a land filled with investment opportunities – an ideal location at the heart of Europe, the highest productivity, low cost of land and a highly educated and multilingual workforce, as several independent studies have shown. And indeed, Wallonia was recently praised – once again! – as the first and best European region in Europe for logistics by Cushman&Wakefield.

With so many opportunities for foreign businesses and the existing links between India and Belgium, including several substantial investments, we consequently decided to open an India Welcome Office in Wallonia. The aim of this one-of-a-kind initiative is to serve as a “one-stop-shop”, with a personalised service for Indian businesses willing to expand their activities in Europe. Furthermore, our organisation will very soon take part in a commercial mission in India with His Royal Highness Prince Philippe of Belgium, which will highlight the collaboration areas between our countries and develop new profitable business relationships.

Wallonia is more Indian-friendly than ever, feel free to contact us for further information!

Didier DENAYER
Economic and Commercial Counsellor

News & Events

H&M European hub in Wallonia
The Swedish clothing group H&M and Wallonia authorities have announced the development of a distribution centre in the Ghlin-Baudour economic zone, which will lead to the creation of more than 300 jobs. Wallonia was the group's first choice because of the attractive price of greenfield land, the quality of the workforce and the availability of investment grants.

Belgium remains in first position in the European logistics and distribution market, according to a recent report by Cushman & Wakefield. This report ranks 25 countries based on rent, labour costs, congestion, size of freight markets by type, proximity to key markets and population densities.With low property and building costs and a central location in Europe, Belgium is the place most investors chose for their distribution centres and logistics platforms. Download the report here.

Charleroi airport - flying colours!
Brussels South Charleroi Airport, which recently opened its new terminal and launched 6 new destinations, shows an unrivalled 14% growth for the first quarter 2008, remaining one of the country's favourite airports.

IBA expanding again
Walloon biotech company Ion Beam Applications opens a new radiopharmaceuticals production centre in Guilford (Surrey), which reinforces the position of IBA as the largest radiopharmaceuticals distribution network in the world.
www.iba.be

ING Real Estate invests in logistics
The real estate subsidiary of the ING Group bought 123,000 sq. metres of warehouse space in Liège, making this operation one of the largest transactions in the industrial sector in Belgium.
www.ingrealestate.com

Pfizer's new R&D facility
Pfizer Animal Health's new R&D centre for veterinary vaccines has been inaugurated in Louvain-la-Neuve. During the past two years, Pfizer has invested €40m (£32m) on their LLN site.
www.pfizer.be

Launch of AWEX TV online
www.awextv.be
Videos and presentations of programmes of actions of the Wallonia Foreign Trade and Investment Agency will take you even closer to our dynamic region.