What's the difference between India and China's SEZ policy?

06 October 2006

CNBC-TV18 checks out the differences between special economic zones in China and India. China has five, India has 200 and still more coming up, that's the SEZ score.

But that doesn't necessarily mean victory for India. It simply indicates the contrasting approaches between Indian and Chinese policies on SEZs.

Each of the five SEZs in China is the size of a mega city. Even the 25,000-acre Reliance SEZ in Navi Mumbai pales in comparison.
Unlike India, where 200-odd SEZs will spread over the length and breadth of India, China's five SEZs are strategically located in the southeast, three of them in Guandong province.

Sudhir Kapadia, tax head, KPMG India, says, "They are close to ports and trade nations like Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. A lot of thought has gone into the location of these SEZs. "

China's SEZ initiative is government driven. But in India the private sector will develop most of them. There is no minimum area requirement to set up an SEZ in China, unlike as in India. And China does not offer tax incentives across the board to all companies, as India does.