Indian defence industry leader to engage with South East Asian markets
India’s state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has opened a regional marketing office in Kuala Lumpur, aiming to sell heavyweight defence equipment such as BrahMos missiles and fighter jets Tejas to the South East Asian countries.
The office was inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on 11 July during his ongoing three-day visit to Malaysia, as part of a move to facilitate close defence industrial collaboration between the two countries, the Ministry of Defence said.
The regional office will also serve as a hub for the HAL’s engagement with the wider South-East Asian region and act as a window for other Indian defense PSUs, said the statement.
Another reason for the opening of the office was the potential to service and maintain the Su-30 fleet of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), according to media reports.
India’s defence exports are expected to be worth US$5 billion by 2024-25, up from the US$1.5 billion a year ago.
“India will take rapid strides to be included among the largest defence manufacturing countries and our private sector and investors will play a big role in that,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi had told some 800 companies on that participated in the Aero India 2023 on 13 Feb 2023. Fiinews.com
