Asahi Songwon, Japan's DIC Corp to deepen partnership, invest in India

Asahi Songwon Colors and Japan's DIC Corporation plan to deepen their two-decade partnership with more investments in India. The companies are exploring expanding pigment production facilities to cater to global requirements.

Asahi Songwon Colors Limited and Japan's DIC Corporation are looking to deepen their partnership and bring further investments into India, with the scale of the proposed investment currently under negotiation, Asahi Songwon Managing Director Gokul M Jaykrishna said.

Speaking with ANI during an Indian business delegation's visit to Japan, Jaykrishna said the companies were exploring opportunities to expand their long-standing collaboration in India. "We are looking to strengthen ties between Asahi and DIC to bring further investments into India," he said.

Investment Scale and Future Plans

Asked about the potential size of the investment and new products planned for India, Jaykrishna said, "The scale of investment is yet under negotiation between DIC and Asahi."

He said DIC has its own investment plans in India while also having business ties with Asahi Songwon, adding that the companies were looking at their relationship from a long-term perspective. "DIC has their own direct plans and investments, and they have some business with us as well, but the duration and the aptitude that we are having is very long-term planning. As with Japanese companies, they think long-term," he said.

DIC is the largest ink maker in the world today with revenue exceeding Rs 65,000 crore and holding market share of over 35% globally.

Expanding Production for Global Demand

Jaykrishna said Asahi Songwon, which manufactures pigments, has had a collaboration with DIC for over two decades and wants to expand production in India to cater to global requirements. "We have had a relationship and a collaboration with them for over 20 or 25 years now," he said, adding, "We are looking to strengthen ties between Asahi and DIC to bring further investments into India."

He also said the companies were looking at opportunities for more production facilities, joint ventures and investments in the country. "We want to bring more investments to India in our joint venture," Jaykrishna said.

According to Jaykrishna, DIC already has manufacturing operations in India and is also making further investments in its ink operations in Gujarat.

Boosting India-Japan Economic Ties

He said the broader strengthening of India-Japan economic ties could encourage Japanese companies to expand their investments and manufacturing presence in India. "Many Japanese companies... have given commitments that new companies will come, and the companies like Suzuki, Toyota, Mitsubishi, which are already making very strong investments for many years, will bring more big investments to India," he said.

Jaykrishna said increased collaboration between Indian and Japanese companies could support manufacturing, job creation and India's broader economic growth.

He also said Asahi Songwon would look to deepen its partnership with DIC to manufacture pigments in India for the Japanese company's global requirements.

High-Level Business Delegation Visits Japan

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is on a four-day visit to Japan from August 24-27, leading a delegation of more than 200 Indian business representatives, the country's largest-ever business delegation to Japan.

The delegation, comprising representatives from sectors including manufacturing, semiconductors, clean energy, automobiles, financial services, healthcare and start-ups, will visit Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka for meetings, roundtables and business engagements aimed at strengthening India-Japan trade and investment ties.

India-Japan bilateral trade stood at USD 27.47 billion in FY2025-26, with Japan's exports to India at USD 21.43 billion and imports from India at USD 6.04 billion. The two countries are also working towards a target of 10 trillion yen in Japanese private investment into India over the next decade, announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Japan in August 2025. (ANI)

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