India is an emerging country with the second largest population in the world (approximately 1.25 billion), and as the relationship between Japan and India is extremely favorable, many Japanese companies are interested in India as a potential country to expand their business into. In fact, more than 1,200 Japanese companies have already started their business in India, and this tendency is expected to continue. Because the second official language in India is English, it can be said that India is an easy environment in which to conduct business.

Since the start of its economic liberalization policy in 1991, India has been gradually relaxing its investment regulations, and recently, a special team called "Japan Plus" was created by the Indian government for Japanese companies. Because of this, the legal aspect of the investment environment is not bad. Nevertheless, investors should be aware that negotiation with Indians tends to be a tough negotiation, and that, if business is started without well understanding the Indian laws, one may encounter unexpected troubles. Among other legislations, the new Companies Act amended and restated in 2013 had a direct impact on local companies, so careful examination of the contents of that law, including relevant rules and notifications, is strongly recommended.

Our firm has been involved in a variety of cases such as acquisition of Indian companies (including tender offer of a listed company), establishment of local subsidiaries, documentation of various kinds of contracts for joint ventures in India, subscription of new shares of Indian companies , consultation on exiting from its business in India, advice to comply with the new Companies Act, documentation of trade agreements, license agreements, distribution agreements and other agreements with Indian companies, and support for dispute resolution in India.

In addition, one of our attorneys has completed an internship at an Indian law firm.