News

Leadership Roundtable Breakfast meeting

July 15, 2023 - World Trade Center Kochi and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) organized a Leadership Roundtable Breakfast meeting at the Four Points by Sheraton, Kochi. The topic of discussion was “Fintech and the Changing Roles for Leaders”. Ms. Lucia Real Martin, Executive Director, ACCA in her keynote address spoke about how Fintech has revolutionized the financial landscape. It is now thriving in India being a 50 billion USD industry with the figure set to triple by 2025. She shared the results of a recently conducted survey by ACCA. She stressed upon the importance of data security and privacy for the industry. She spoke how finance professionals should not only have good knowhow of the subject but also a strong ethical backbone. Mr. Hrishikesh Nair, President, WTC welcomed the gathering – in his speech he touched upon the growth of the Fintech industry and its evolving roles. Mr. Sushanth Kurunthil, CEO, Infopark delivered the special address where he urged stakeholders to come together with events in initiatives to transform Kochi into a major tech hub. Mr. Md. Sajid Khan, Director India, ACCA moderated the session. The event was attended by about 30 top level executives representing various industries such as – IT & ITeS, Manufacturing, Electronics, Retail, Banking and Real Estate. Mr. Vivek George, World Trade Center also spoke. Read More

Business Opportunities between India & Singapore

June 2, 2023 - World Trade Center Kochi in association with Valid Points Law Offices and Fastcorp Pte Ltd, Singapore organized an online session on “Exploring business opportunities between India & Singapore”. Mr Neeraj Dubey, Founder and Managing Partner, The Valid Points Law Offices, India and Mr. Kenneth Chee, Director, Fastcorp Pte Ltd were the speakers. Mr. Dubey spoke about the legal aspects of setting up business in Singapore. He listed the major changes and reforms brought about in India with respect to ease of doing business. He also shared the details of the various bi-lateral trade agreements between India and Singapore. He gave a few examples of success stories that happened as a result of Singapore and Indian companies’ collaboration such as DBS Bank and Vistara Airlines. Mr. Kenneth Chee spoke about the main factors that make Singapore an ideal place to do business – No tax on capital gains, avoiding double taxation, no capital control, strong legal system, stable political environment, permission for 100% foreign ownership, efficient banking system and access to world class logistics and transport. He also discussed the recent trend of family offices setting up in Singapore owing to its reputation of being a safe haven for wealth and attractive tax incentives. The programme had participation from various sectors and was also an opportunity to have their questions on the topic answered. Mr. Vivek George, World Trade Center moderated the session and Mr. Sandeep Raj, Coordinator, World Trade Center Kochi proposed the vote of thanks. Read More

Level Up Your Team Game

June 2, 2023 - A one-day workshop on “Level Up Your Team Game” was held at Four Points by Sheraton, Infopark. Mr. Krishna Kumar, CEO, GreenPepper was the faculty. He explained the differences between a fixed and growth-oriented mindset and urged the participants to develop a growth mindset and mentioned ways to do it. He listed the most desirable leaderships skills today and the different types of leadership styles employed. He gave tips to tweak the happiness chemicals produced by the human body in order to achieve high productivity, satisfaction and motivation. Mr. Krishna Kumar spoke about emotional intelligence and its importance. He also discussed various kinds of biases which limits one’s ability to think in creative ways. He explained six ways in which workplace is set to change in the coming years such as elimination of middle management, adoption of smart machines etc. The interactive workshop was also filled with activities. Company representatives from sectors – IT & ITeS, real estate, manufacturing, logistics etc. participated in the session. Read More

Say Goodbye to Universal Analytics

April 27, 2023 - The Google Universal Analytics free version will stop recording data from 1st July 2023. In this context, an online session was conducted in association with NASSCOM which provided updates on the upcoming GA4 Analytics. Mr. Sanil Bose, Founder, Digital Marketing & Strategy Consultant, Ayruz Data Marketing was the speaker. Mr. Bose gave an overview of the history of the Google analytics. A business will lose its historic data, customer insight etc if backup is not performed/ migrated to the new GA4 system. GA4 is designed to adapt to a cookie less future, provides user centric measurement, has improved data modelling and data collection mechanisms. However, it is not an automatic upgrade, is more challenging than its previous version and is still a work in progress. Mr. Bose also shared a few alternatives of GA4 and listed their features. Mr. Dinesh Kumar, Deputy Manager, NASSCOM; Mr. Sujith Unni, Regional Head, NASSCOM and Mr. Vivek George, World Trade Center also spoke. Read More

Understanding India’s Foreign Trade Policy 2023

April 27, 2023 - World Trade Center in association with Export Promotion Council for EOUs and SEZs conducted a virtual session “Understanding Foreign Trade Policy 2023”. Mr. K.M. Harilal ITS, Joint director General of Foreign Trade, Kochi was the keynote speaker. Mr. Krishna Barad, Partner/ Customs & International Trade, Indirect Tax and Mr. Karthik Mani, Partner – Indirect Tax, BDO India gave detailed presentations on the new FTP. Mr K.M. Harilal ITS highlighted the major changes in the current Foreign Trade Policy – transition from a subsidy-based regime to a remission-based regime; a consolidated handbook of procedure that contains clear information on the free trade agreement, certificate of origin, tariff rates etc; SCOMET have been formally introduced; elaboration of previously existing schemes like district export hub, CQCTD. He also mentioned that the FTP does not have an end date as opposed to previous policies. The amnesty scheme for exporters who had taken EPCG but were unable to meet the requirements and obligations is also added into the policy. There has been a fee reduction for MSMEs to INR 5000. He added that the national ambition is to target exports at 2 trillion USD. Mr. Krishna Barad spoke about the trade dispute with WTO due to which programs like MEIS were replaced. He elaborated on the changes brought about by FTP 2023. He also covered the SCOMET scheme, its background, guidelines and the material exports that come under it. Mr. Karthik Mani spoke in detail about the impact of the new policy on export oriented units, electronics hardware technology parks, software technology parks and biotechnology parks. He also shared information on a few schemes that aims to promote cross border trade in digital economy. Mr. Vivek George, World Trade Center delivered the Welcome address. Mr. K.K. Pillai, Regional Chairman, EPCES also spoke. Read More

Women’s Day celebrated at WTC Kochi

March 29, 2023 - The International Women’s Day was celebrated at WTC Kochi. Ms. Vinitha Vijayan, Assistant Development Commissioner, CSEZ was the Chief Guest. Women entrepreneurs, decision makers and CXOs were felicitated for their achievements. They also shared their experiences and success stories with the lady supporting staff and appreciated their efforts in keeping WTC a clean and safe workplace. Mr. Pradeep Rajan, Manager – Facility and Mr. Sandeep Raj, Coordinator, WTC Kochi also spoke. Read More

WTC Kochi bags iNFHRA Workplace Excellence awards

March 29, 2023 - WTC Kochi wins the award for ‘Best Cafeteria Management’ at the prestigious iNFHRA Workplace Excellence event held at Chennai. We also received the first runners up prize under ‘Encouraging Employees to return to office’. Mr. Pradeep Rajan, Sr. Manager – Facility, WTC Kochi received the awards. The Infrastructure, Facility, Human Resource and Realty Association (iNFHRA) is India’s premier industry body for the workplace fraternity. Read More

Talk on ChatGPT

February 27, 2023 - A webinar titled ‘Talk on ChatGPT: Potential Game Changer for Business’ was held yesterday. It was organized by WTC in association with NASSCOM. Emerging Tech Consultant Mr.Sunil David enlighted the gathering on the much discussed AI conversational tool.Mr.David touched upon the history of these BOTs, how it evolve, business use cases and how it can develop and help humans to personalise communications. Mr. Vivek George from WTC moderated the session. Mr. Sujith Unni,Regional Head-NASSCOM made the opening remarks. Over 600 people showed interest in this talk show. Read More

Union Budget Analysis Session

February 27, 2023 - The Annual Post Budget Analysis session of WTC Kochi was held at Four Points by Sheraton, Infopark. Eminent Economist and Author – Dr. V. K. Vijayakumar delivered the keynote address. Subject matter Experts from BDO India, Mr. Raghunathan Parthasarathy-Partner and Mr. Dinesh Kumar B. – Partner provided the in-depth analysis of the Direct and Indirect Tax proposals. The event was done in association with FICCI Kerala State Council. Mr. Gopalakrishnan, Chair-Finance Committee of FICCI also spoke. The session witnessed participation from industry representatives. Mr. Vivek George, WTC made the opening remarks and moderated the discussions. Mr. Sandeep Raj proposed the vote of thanks. BDO India LLP was the Knowledge Partner. Read More

When the Clock Ticks Away – Do More in Less Time

January 30, 2023 - World Trade Center Kochi in association with Indian Institute of Materials Management, Bangalore organized an online session on Effective Time Management. Mr. Aswath Ramaiah, Founder, Unique Consultants was the speaker. Mr. Ramaiah described how time, being a non-replenishable asset, need to be carefully utilized. He stated that certain jobs needs undivided attention and hence is not advisable to multitask on those. He opined that one should always have a contingency plan in place in case the first approach fails. He shared a few ways to avoid procrastination, by dedicating more time to focused work, meditation, and reducing time spent in social media. Mr. Ramaiah says one should prioritize and not spend too much time on a specific task after completing it, to make it perfect. From his experience, one can also find time to be more productive when the task at hand requires little to no attention, like waiting for a train/bus. Mr. Sandeep Raj, Coordinator, World Trade Center Kochi moderated the session. Mr. Vivek George, Sr. Manager, World Trade Center and Mr. P. Sengottaiyan, Chairman, IIMM Bangalore also spoke. Read More

Simelabs sets up new office at WTC Kochi

January 30, 2023 - SimeLabs a leading digital solutions provider sets up their new office at World Trade Center Kochi. Their services include, embedded and VLSI services, AR, VR, AI, data intelligence & science, blockchain, IOT, cloud and robotics. They also have offices at Singapore, Dubai and Sunnyvale. Read More

Visit of Senior Trade commissioner

December 23, 2022 - Mr. Kenneth Wong, Consul and Senior Trade Commissioner, Consulate General of Canada in Bengaluru visited us. Discussions revolved around the business ecosystem in Kerala and possible areas of collaboration and trade. He was also briefed on the WTC activities. Read More