Cordoba                 (Pop: 1.5 mn; industrial and educational centre)

Rosario                   (Pop: 1 mn; agribusiness)

23 provinces and Federal Capital

Cordoba      -         Manufacturing, agribusiness, IT & educational centre
Santa Fe      -         Agribusiness
Entre Rios   -         Agribusiness
Mendoza     -         Wine, oil & gas and minerals
Neuquen      -         Oil & gas
Santa Cruz   -             - do –
Chubut         -             - do –
San Juan      -         Minerals

Argentine Peso written as ‘$’, the same as US Dollar sign

Argentina                         54
Buenos Aires                   11
Rosario                            341
Córdoba                          351
Mendoza                          261
Mar del Plata                   223

For calling mobile phones from outside Argentina, after the country code 0054, the area code is 911 [but inside the country, it is 15]

Pleasant; no extremes. Since Argentina is in the Southern hemisphere, the seasons are the opposite to those of India.
Peak summer         :         December – January
Peak winter           :         June-July

From 20 December to 31 January
Summer vacations spots – Mar del Plata, Punta del Este (Uruguay)
Winter vactions spots – Bariloche and Las Leñas ski resorts

8 ½ hours behind India.

Presidential form of Government; President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (from December 2007 for four years)
The provinces are autonomous with elected governors and legislatures.
[www.argentina.gov.ar]

www.sectur.gov.ar

www.bue.gov.ar (city information)

www.todotango.com (about tango and culture)

Iguazú waterfalls
El Calafate - Glacier
Ushuaia - Southernmost city (End of the world)
Mendoza - Vineyards
Salta - Natural Scenery

According to independent estimates, the inflation rates are much more than the official figures given here.

During 2010 area under crops was 32 million hectares. Soy is the main crop and accounts for 16.6 million hectares. Wheat is planted in 5.6 million hectares, Maize in 4 million hectares and Sunflower in 2.6 m hectares.

The heart of agriculture in Argentina is “the Pampas”, the vast, fertile plains covering the provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe and Cordoba. Rosario is the centre of agri-business with its agro-processing plants and river port close to the production areas.
There is no restriction on foreign investment in land in Argentina. A number of foreign corporations and individuals own thousands of hectares of cropland, cattle ranches, vineyards and forests.
Total production of grains and oilseeds is about 100 million tons. More than fifty per cent of the production is exported.

• Soy - 49 million tons (local consumption insignificant)
• Corn - 22 m tos
• wheat - 15 m tons ( domestic consumption 5 million tons )
• sunflower seeds - 4 m tons
• sorghum - 3 m tons

Agricultural practices of Argentina are large scale and modern. 70% of the agricultural land is leased by companies and individuals who do professional and commercial farming. 90% of the land is under “direct seeding cultivation”. Under this innovative method, the land is not ploughed for seeding. The residue of the previous harvest is allowed to be absorbed by the land and seed is inserted into the earth by a special machine without ploughing . This method is better for soil conservation, preservation of moisture and organic matters and for prevention of soil degradation.
The minimum size of land for viable farming is 2,000 hectares. Farmers and Farming companies generally outsource services such as seeding, spraying of pesticides, fertilizers and harvesting.
Soy yield per hectare is 3-4 tons per hectare. Corn yield per hectare is 10 tons. wheat yield is around 4.3 tons.
Argentine companies have started producing bio-diesel from soy. 2010 production capacity was 1.8 million tons which is being increased to 2.5 million tons by 2011. Argentina is the largest exporter of bio-diesel in the world. Most of the bio-diesel is exported to the United States and Europe.
Argentina has the third largest capacity for oil processing in the world with 155,000 tons per day. Share of processing: Cargill- 16.6% , Bunge - 15.2% , AGD - 13.4% , Molinos Rio - 12.4%. Argentina has overtaken  Brazil which has a capacity of 140,000 tons a day. China processes 220,000 tons followed by USA with 170,000tons.

Largest agro-commodity exporters are: Cargill-16 million tons, Bunge-10 m tons, Dreyfus-8 m tons, AGD-5.7 m tons, AMD-5.2 m tons.

Argentina is the fifth largest producer of wine in the world with a production of 1.5 million litres. There are 230,000 hectares of vineyards. Mendoza province accounts for 70 percent of production. The second largest production is in San Juan  and the third in Salta provinces.
The total number of vineyards are 26130 and wineries 1331.
The industry was earlier focussed on domestic consumption which is 40 litres per head per year, sixth in the world ahead of Spain. Wine exports have been increasing in recent years, reaching 1 bn dollars in 2010. Besides wine, Argentina exports Must and table grapes.
Malbec is the signature wine of Argentina.

Argentina is self-sufficient in energy and has surplus petroleum for exports. Total oil reserves are about 2 billion barrels. Annual production is about 800,000 bpd of which 300,000 bpd is exported. Still there are underexplored and unexplored areas for oil. While the Provincial governments are the owners of oilfields, ENARSA, the Federal state oil company controls all the off-shore areas. Off-shore exploration has just started in 2008. The Spanish company Repsol and Brazilian Petrobras are the major oil producers.
It is the second largest gas producer (50 bn cu mts) in Latin America. Total reserves are estimated to be 620 bn cu mts. It exports gas to Chile.

Argentina has the world's third largest shale gas reserves of 774 tcf

Argentina is a pioneer and largest user of CNG technology. Argentine companies have been exporting CNG conversion kits and technology to many countries. Galileo, a leader in Argentina in CNG sector has supplied technology and equipments to India.

Argentina has lot of potential to develop wind energy. Currently only 30 mw is produced. But there are plans to produce 1200 mw by 2016.

Argentina has significant reserves of gold, silver, zinc, uranium, copper and iron. Mineral exports are around 2 billion dollars. Most minerals are found in the provinces of Mendoza and San Juan on the Andean mountain side.

The Argentine manufacturing industry is relatively large and diversified. It is strong in food processing, automobiles, auto parts, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, paper and metallurgy.
Argentina ’s industrial production include :                         

• 660,000 automobiles                                     
• 5.1 million tons of steel
• 465,000 tons of aluminium
• 1.2 million tons of paper
• 1.9 million tons of sugar  
• 170,000 tons of PVC
• 540,000 tons of polyethylene

In 2008, 743,000 motorcycles were sold in Argentina, 9% more than in 2007 . Only 50,000 units (7%) were of national production, another 33% (245,000) were locally assembled and the other 447,000 were imported complete from China (most of them), Brazil, Japan and Taiwan

• Peugeot –Citroen  140000
• General Motors - 110000
• Ford - 95000
• Toyota - 85000
• Volkswagen - 72000
• Fiat – 57000

60 percent of automobiles produced in Argentina are exported.

The IT sector has started growing in recent years. It employed about 50,000 people and had a turnover of 2.5 billion dollars in 2009 increased from 300 million dollars in 2006 to over 500 million dollars in 2009. The Argentine software industry´s ambition is to increase turnover to 7 billion dollars by 2016 including exports of one billion dollars and employment to 150,000 people.

The Argentine pharmaceutical market is valued at 4.2 billion dollars. There are 110 laboratories in the country, of which 17 are international laboratories and the rest are national. Market leaders are Bayer, Bagó and Roemmers. Foreign companies have a share of 54% of the market while the local companies control 46%. Exports in 2010 were 800 million dollars. Most of the exports go to Latin America.

The top ten pharma companies are :
Roemmers, Bagó, Ivax Argentina, Gador, Elea, Sanofi Aventis,  Bayer, Montpellier, Pfizer and Phoenix.    
            
The Argentine regulatory agency ANMAT allows import of pharmaceuticals only from 26 countries mentioned in the Presidential Decree 150 of 1992. Since India is not in this list, imports are not possible. The Government of Argentina has been requested to include India in their list. However, Argentine companies import substantial quantities of bulk drugs from India.

Latest information on Argentine Textle Industry and Argentine imports of Indian Textiles.

Railways:   32.000 km. Argentina was the first country to establish railways in Latin America. But the system needs rehabilitation and modernisation.

Main Ports in Argentina:   Buenos Aires, Rosario, Santa Fé and Bahia Blanca.Argentina has river navigation for ships which can go upstream to Paraguay and Bolivia. Rosario is the major river port and is the major centre of agro exports.

As member of Mercosur, Argentina follows the Common External Tariff which is an average of 15 per cent. Maximum duty is 20 per cent. But there are a number of exceptions. Sales tax ( IVA) is 21 per cent. Corporate tax is 35 per cent and Income tax is between 9 and 35 per cent. Export taxes on agro-products range from 5 to 35 per cent.

“Prosperar” is the Argentine government’s Investment Promotion Agency.
Information in English is given in their website: www.prosperar.gov.ar
Another source for information on Investment in English http://www.invertir.com/

The banking sector of Argentina after having gone through the turmoil during the crisis in 2002 is now on a more stable foundation through better regulatory measures, reforms and mergers.

Top ten banks (in the order of their ranking)

1. BANCO DE LA NACION ARGENTINA www.bna,com,ar
2. BANCO DE LA PROVINCIA DE BUENOS AIRES www.bapro.com.ar
3. BANCO GALICIAwww.bancogalicia.com.ar
4. BANCO SANTANDER RIOwww.bancorio.com.ar
5. BANCO FRANCÉSwww.bancofrances.com.ar
6. BANCO CIUDAD DE BUENOS AIRESwww.bancociudad.com.ar
7. BANCO MACROwww.bansud.com.ar
8. BANCO HSBCwww.hsbc.com.ar
9. BANCO HIPOTECARIOwww.bancohipotecario.com.ar
10. BANCO CREDICCOPwww.crediccop.com.ar

Major Argentine edible oil exporters to India

• Cargil                                                 
• Molinos Rio de la Plata              
• Vicentin                                    
• Luis Dreyfus                              
• AGD                                            
• Bunge

Indian exporters are invited to explore the potential for exports to Argentina. There is scope for increasing the volume of items already exported as well as for new items. These are: vehicles, two-wheelers, auto parts, machinery including for sugar industry and railways, solar and wind energy, chemicals, inputs for agriculture, agrochemicals, bulk drugs, dyestuff, textiles and handicrafts.
Indian brands have started making their mark in Argentina.

Mahindra Tractors and Royal Enfield Motorcycles were launched in Argentine market in March 2009.  Bajaj motor cycles are sold in Argentina.

India’s imports of soy and sunflower oil as well as copper are expected to increase steadily in the years to come. Wheat would be an import item as and when there is shortfall in Indian production. Argentine companies have been supplying CNG kits to India, wine, wool, leather, olives and dried vegetables and fruits.

Argentina has the potential for contributing to India’s food security in future. At present, Argentina is a major source of edible oils for India. According to the Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA), the requirement of edible oils in 2006 was 12 million tons of which 7 million were produced domestically and 5 million was imported. Imports shot up to over 7 million tons in 2009. In 2010, the requirement of edible oils is expected to increase to 15 million tons and more in the years to come. But the production of oilseeds in India cannot match the demand and India will continue to be a long term importer of edible oils. In this respect, India can count on Argentina as a reliable source. Argentina is the world’s largest exporter of soya oil and sunflower oil. Argentina has the third largest capacity for edible oil processing after China and USA.

India has imported wheat from Argentina from time to time, including purchase of 44 million dollars in 2008. Besides edible oil and wheat, Argentina can be a new source of pulses. India imports about 3 million tons of pulses from countries such as Myanmar, Australia, Turkey and Canada. Although. India does not import any pulses from Argentina at present, the Argentine soil is suitable for cultivation of pulses of interest to India. The Argentine agribusiness companies are willing to grow these, attracted by the large and growing market in India.

It is advisable for Indian companies  to think beyond imports and go in for acquisition of land in Argentina to grow oil seeds, wheat and pulses. There is no restriction on foreign investment in land in Argentina. A number of foreign companies and individuals own thousands of hectares of land. Sterling Group of NRI Sivasankaran has acquired an olive farm of 1700 hectares in the Catamarca province of Argentina. A Non-Resident Indian company ‘Olam’ has leased 17,000 hectares of land in Argentina to produce peanuts. Encouraged by the success of this venture, they are now planning to grow wheat, soya and pulses with additional leasing of land. Land is available in lots of hundreds and thousands of hectares. SEA had sent two delegations to Argentina (also Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil) in 2006 and 2007 to study the possibility of acquisition of land for production of oilseeds. They have already formed a consortium of 14 companies which proposes to invest in agricultural land in the region. To start with, they have a plan to invest 40 million dollars in Uruguay. Besides SEA of India and STC,  private sector groups have also shown interest in acquisition of land in Argentina.

India is going to be under more pressure for agricultural land in future.  India´s population increases by 15 million every year and it adds a new Argentina (40 million) every 32 months. On the other hand, agricultural land is diminishing because of the increasing use for residential, industrial and commercial purposes. This is in contrast with Argentina which has a small population of 40 million with an area almost equal to that of India. Besides the large area, the Argentine productivity of grains and oilseeds are three times that of India. For example, average yield per hectare of soya in India is 900 kg while the Argentine average is 3 tons. In India, the subsistence farmers with their average land holding of just a few acres are unable to invest and increase productivity significantly. But the Argentine farmers who hold thousands of hectares of land do farming commercially and professionally and are able to invest in innovation and productivity.

Argentina can also contribute, to a small extent, to India´s energy security. Argentine oil resources are under-explored. They have 2 billion barrels of discovered reserves and are currently producing 800,000 bpd. They are just starting off-shore exploration and the land area has not been fully explored.  Indian oil companies in public and private sector could make entry here. Reliance has formed a joint venture with an Argentine private company Pluspetrol (along with an Australian company Woodside) and their consortium has won concessions in Peru and Bolivia for oil and gas exploration. They are also exploring opportunities in Argentina and in other countries of the region.    ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL) has signed an MOU with their Argentine counterpart ENARSA and jointly seek opportunities in Argentina and in this region.

Argentina is the third largest exporter of bio-diesel in the world. They exported over one million tons in 2008 and are increasing production capacity to 1.6 million tons by 2010. India can also consider imports from Argentina.

There are thousands of hectares of land available in the warmer northern parts of Argentina where jatropha can be grown and used to produce bio-diesel. The Indian companies can also invest in commercial forestry in Argentina to take back to India wood and paper pulp which are imported by India regularly.

Freight Rates from

Mumbai to Buenos Aires:

20 foot container: USD 1200
40 foot container: USD 1900

Goods can also be transhipped through Durban in South Africa

There are 13 Indian Companies which have established operations in Argentina. They provide employment to 7000 Argentines. Eight of them are in IT, two in agro-chemicals, one in pharma, one in cosmetics and one in electrical lightning.

TCS has a unit employing 350 Argentines in Buenos Aires and has plans to increase the staff strength to about 1000.

Cognizant has IT and BPO operations employing 230 staff.

 Aegis Group from India has acquired Argentine BPO company Actionline in 2010 which employs 5,000 people in Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Tucuman and Bahia Blanca. Almost all their clients are local. This is the largest Indian BPO in Latin America.

IREVNA has set up a KPO (Knowledge Process Outsourcing) unit in Buenos Aires for financial and investment research services employing 70 Argentine staff and has plans to expand.

WIPRO has an office an Buenos Aires with 20 staff. They have plans to expand.

Copal Partners an Indian Financial Research company has established an office in Buenos Aires in the second half of 2010. They have3 plans to hire 50 staff.

Cellent, a Mumbai-based IT company, has bought an Argentine start-up company "Net People" which specializes in software for mobile phones.

Prokarma has a centre in Buenos Aires with a local name ABC Consulting employing 100 staff.

HCL opened a IT centre in Buenos Aires in 2009.  

Argentina has the following competitive advantages for BPO, KPO and software development:

1.      Argentina has one of the highest literacy rates in Latin America with ample availability of qualified and skilled manpower, some of whom are proficient in English.

2.      The cost of operations and salaries are much below to those in Mexico, Brazil and Chile. The local salaries are somewhat closer to Indian salaries in some cases.

3.      Indian IT, BPO and KPO companies can offer services to their North American clients in the same time zone to avoid night shift operations in India. The operations in Argentina will complement their operations in India to provide round-the-clock service to the North American clients with 12 hours of service from South America and 12 hours from India. 

4.      The Buenos Aires City Government as well as other city and provincial governments are  developing  new technology parks and are giving incentives and facilities for IT companies.

United Phosphorus Ltd (UPL) of Mumbai has acquired three Argentine agrochem and seeds companies and operates four manufacturing units and a R&D unit employing 200 Argentines. The turnover of UPL Argentina is about 80 million dollars and is expected to increase.

Punjab Chemicals and Crop Protection Ltd (PCCPL) has acquired an Argentine company “Síntesis quimica” and operates with two factories in Argentina producing and exporting agro chemicals. Their turnover is about 30 million dollars.

Glenmark has acquired an Argentine pharma company “Servycal SA” which specialises in oncological products. They are setting up a new factory (to be inaugurated in 2011) which will become the global centre of oncological prouducts for the company. They are already exporting to about 30 countries.

Indo Borax Chemicals Ltd has acquired a small Borax mine in Argentina in 2009 and is planning to acquire bigger mines.

Godrej has acquired two Argentine cosmetic companies in 2010: Issue Group and Argencos. They produce hair colour and other cosmetic products. They also export to other countries in the region.

Havells-Sylvania of India has a business of about 15 million dollars in electrical lamps and lightning equipments. It employs 40 argentines.

Reliance has formed a joint venture with an Argentine oil company Pluspetrol (The consortium includes Westwood of Australia) and they have won a concession in Peru for oil exploration and production.

Srishti Group of Kolkota has signed (in 2009) a MoU with the provincial government of Missiones to build a “Vedic Hotel” in the tourist resort of Iguazu.

Ashok Leyland has signed a MoU with Plaza Group of Argentina for joint venture in production of buses and trucks.

Tata Motors is exploring possibilities of joint ventures in vehicle production in Argentina.

Sonalika Tractors has signed a MoU with an Argentine company for tractors and agricultural machinery.

ONGC (OVL) has signed a MoU with ENARSA, their Argentine counterpart for possible joint ventures in Argentina for oil exploration.

Kirloskar is planning to put up an  assembly plant in Argentina for manufacture of pumps.

IFFCO the Gujarat based fertilizer cooperative company is in talks with Americas Petrogas of Canada to set up a urea plant using gas produced in La Pampa region of Argentina.

The Embassy would like to recommend to Indian companies investment in agribusiness in Argentina (as well as in Uruguay and Paraguay). Soy, sunflower, pulses, wheat and other food crops can be grown and taken back to India.

Wipro products and services including consumer care (Wipro Shikakai, Wipro Baby Soft), branded hydraulic cylinders, products (Wipro branded PCs, laptops, peripherals), and IT (Wipro Technologies and Wipro Infotech).

ArcelorMittal has acquired the Argentine steel company Acindar and steel distribution company Magjadalani for over 600 million dollars.

Sterling Group of India (owned by NRI Sivasankaran)has acquired a 1700 hectare olive farm in Catamarca Province of Argentina.

“Olam” , a NRI company with headquarters in Singapore has some investment in agribusiness and does trading in groundnut and other agro commodities. They grow peanuts, soya and wheat in 30,000 hectares of land in Rio Cuarto and Salta areas and have plans to increase the acreage. They have acquired 2 peanut processing plants in Rio Cuarto.  They have ventured into rice production in Argentina and Uruguay.

There are some Indians who are in textiles business( imports, wholesale and retail ) in Buenos Aires.

Ayurveda is becoming popular and there are Ayurvedic Spas and massage centres.  The University of Buenos Aires has been running postgraduate courses in Ayurveda in collaboration with Gujarat Ayurveda University. Dr Jorge Luis Berra (www.medicinaayurveda.org) is the organiser of these courses. Our Honorary Consul General in Cordoba city Dr. Sergio Suraez (vedica@datamarkets.com.ar) is also an Ayurvedic expert and teacher. The Department of AYUSH of the Indian Health Ministry has agreed to the proposal of the Embassy to support promotion of Ayurveda in Argentina. There is scope for export of Ayurvedic and herbal products to Argentina.

Techint, the 18 billion dollar Argentine Group ( steel, energy,engineering) has an office in Thane employing 200 Indian engineers for their projects in Middle East, Asia and Europe.

Techint India Pvt. Ltd.,
5th floor, iThink Techno Campus,
Pokhran Road No 2, Thane (W), Maharashtra.

IMPSA, the Argentine engineering company, specializing  in hydroelectric projects, has opened an office in Gurgaon. They are exploring opportunities for projects as well as supply of power generation equipments such as turbines. They have a manufacturing unit in Malaysia.

Biosidus, an Argentine pharma company, has a proposal to set up a plant in India for production of biotech pharmaceuticals for Indian and Asian markets. They are already exporting over 3 million dollars a year to India.
Bago, the leading Argentine pharma company has an office in Hyderabad for sourcing of bulk drugs run by Vikram Beri. They have a joint venture opeartion with Ranbaxy to market their products in Thailand.
Some Argentine companies have shown interest in investments and joint ventures in India in food processing and autoparts.

Entertainment business
Illusion Studios of Buenos Aires in collaboration with Toonz Animation Ltd of Trivandrum produced a cartoon film ¨Gaturro¨ which was a box office hit in Argentina in 2010. 
The Argentine musician, Gustavo Santaolalla composed music for the Amir Khan film ¨Dhobi Ghat¨ which was released in January 2011. The Director of the film Kiran Rao is visiting Argentina in March 2011 for the Argentine screenings.
An Argentine director Pablo Cesar is working on a coproduction film ¨Thinking of Him¨ based on the romantic story of Tagore´s encounter  with Victoria O´Campo in Buenos Aires. He is looking for an Indian producer.

The Embassy took the initiative to form this Chamber which was launched in the presence of the Commerce Secretaries of the two countries in June 2008.

Executive Director
Ms. Fabiana Dimase,
Phone- 0341 14482597
E-mail: fay.asiana@gmail.com

Website of the Chamber www.cciai.com.ar
Web Forum camara-arg-ind@yahoogroups.com

Five year multi entry visa ..... for Indian businessmen visiting Argentina... free of cost....
Under the visa Agreement signed on 14 October, 2009 during the visit of President of Argentina to Delhi, the Argentine government has agreed to grant five year multi-entry business visas ....and that too free of cost. Stay during each visit is 90 days extendable by another ninety days.
Please note that there is no need for invitation letter from a client in Argentina to get visa in India. The invitation letter is needed only when an Argentine client takes the initiative to invite the visitor. Visa is given after the Embassy/Consulate is satisfied that the visiting executive and company are bonafide. Please give full information about your company and business interests in order to give confidence to the Visa Officer. 
Embassy of Argentina, New Delhi 
Ambassador: Mr. Ernesto Alvarez
Counsellor Mr. Juan Jose Santander
A-2/6, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi
Tel.No. (91 11) 41661982, 83, 84
Fax.No. 41661988, 89
e-mail embargentindi@yahoo.com, eindiconsul@hotmail.com

Consulate General and Trade Promotion Office in Mumbai

Mr. Tomás Ferrari, Consul General
Mr. Jorge Viñuela   -Visa Officer
Consulate General and Promotion Centre of the
Argentine Republic in Mumbai
Corinthian Building - 5th Floor
17, Justice D. Vyas Marg
Colaba
Mumbai 400 005
Tel Nos. : 0091 (22) 2287 1381 - 83
Fax No.  : 0091 (22) 2202 4746
E Mail : consular@cgmum.co.in, promotion@cgmum.co.in, visa@cgmum.co.in
Website: http://www.cgmum.co.in

Agreement in English - in Spanish

The Embassy of India in Buenos Aires gives "cafe con visa". The visa applicants are invited to have coffee and by the time they finish the coffee, the visa is made ready.

With effect from 12 June 2008, Indian visitors to Argentina are required to take yellow fever vaccination and take the certificate during travel. Argentines applying for visa also need to produce a yellow fever certificate for visa. This is mandatory. Travel without the certificate has the risk of being quarantined in Indian airports.

Following are the route options to Argentina:

1) Mumbai- Johannesburg-Buenos Aires by South African Airways. On Wed, Fri and Sundays you leave Mumbai at 0230 hrs, reach Johannesburg at 0755 hrs, catch the connecting flt at 0950 hrs and reach Buenos Aires at 1730 for Wine and Tango on the same night. On return, you leave on Wed and Fridays at 1930 hrs from Buenos Aires, reach J’burg at 0855 hrs, take the connecting flt at 1130 and reach Mumbai at 0030 hrs. This route is shorter, faster, cheaper and you don’t need any transit visas.

2)  Qatar-Buenos Aires (by Qatar Airways which has a stopover in Sao Paulo)
3)  Dubai – Sao Paulo – Buenos Aires (through Emirates which flies upto Sao Paulo)
4)  Through London, Frankfurt and Paris (transit visa needed).

5) Kuala Lumpur – Johannesburg – Capetown – Buenos Aires (through Malaysian Airlines)

• Through London, Frankfurt and Paris transit visa needed.

The international airport of Argentina, ‘Ministro Pistarini’ at Ezeiza - is located about 22 km away from the city. The domestic airport, ‘Jorge Newbery’ is located close to the city (6 km from downtown). From the domestic airport, there are also flights to Uruguay and some neighbouring countries.

No food stuff should be carried either in the hand or the unaccompanied baggage since the customs authority is very sensitive and restrictive about phytosanitary issues.

At the time of departure, an airport tax of USD 18.00 or its equivalent in the local currency has to be paid.
At the airport one can get a VAT (IVA – Sales tax) reimbursement on purchases (receipt to be submitted) made within the country for an amount over USD 70/- (per invoice) and in shops operating with the “Global Refund” system.

On your arrival at the Ezeiza Airport, please take the prepaid taxis. Depending upon the traffic and the day, it takes about 30 minutes to one hour to reach the city from the airport. The taxi fare is 150/- pesos equal to  US $ 40/-.

Please be careful about freelance taxi drivers who might take you for a ride.  There have been cases of overcharging and even robbery by them who take advantage of foreigners.

Currencies can be changed easily and international credit cards are widely accepted.

US Dollar is used freely and even some shops accept them.

Taxis are plenty and inexpensive and available day and night. It is safer to use radio taxis or Remis. (Private taxi) especially late in the night.  One of the typical frauds by taxi drivers in Buenos Aires is that they give fake currency notes while giving back change. It is, therefore, advisable to give exact change.

These are private taxis operated by numerous agencies spread out in the city. They can be called from hotels and restaurants. The minimum fare is 35 pesos. Embassy has a panel of remise companies.

After arrival in Buenos Aires, the visitors are invited to visit the Business Centre of the Embassy as the first stop. The Commercial Officer, Marcelo, Second Secretary(Commercial) Eenam and  Ambassador Viswanathan would be pleased to meet and provide information and guidance.
The Centre can be used for holding meetings, for making presentations and for communications. Internet, wifi, phone, fax and multimedia projection facilities are available for use, free of cost.
The Business Centre has a beautiful and inspiring view of the 20 kilometre wide Plata river and the cargo ships entering Buenos Aires port.

While many Senior executives speak in English, it might be necessary to have interpreters for meetings at lower levels.
The Embassy maintains a panel of interpreters, which will be made available to visitors. Charges are about 10 US dollars per hour.

The Buenos Aires Herald – www.buenosairesherald.com

Like many other Latin  American  cities,  Buenos Aires also has  its share of crime and violence.  The visitors have to be extremely careful with their travel documents and valuables such as jewellery, expensive watches, camera, video camera, cellular phones and laptops. If confronted by muggers and criminals, it is advisable to give away the valuables without any resistance. The muggers might harm you. They might have guns and can be violent under the influence of drugs. The visitors should carry about USD 20/- in a purse to be given away quickly if confronted by muggers. The rest of the money and credit cards should be kept separately and secretly.

In case of any problem, the tourist police can be contacted at (i) the Tourist Police Station (Comisaria del Turista), Avenida Corrientes  436, Tel.No. 0800 999 5000 / 4346 5748, 43282135, mail- turista@policiafederal.gov.ar and (ii) Defensoría del Turista, Av. Pedro de Mendoza 1835 (Museo de Bellas Artes de La Boca “Don Benito Quinquela Martin”), Tel.No. 43027816, mail-turista@defensoria.org.ar

Buenos Aires has a rich variety of cultural, touristic and nightlife activities and international restaurants. The visitors can certainly enjoy these while taking precautions. Dinner time is generally after 9 PM and night clubs and bars are open till early morning.

There are some stores which offer Global Refund's Tax Free Shopping service in Buenos Aires,  You will be able to purchase leather goods, clothing, handicraft, jewelry and hundreds of other articles, and benefit from a refund of up to 16% of the purchased amount at the airport.
Remember to look for the Tax Free Shopping logo and ask for your Global Refund cheque. Only Argentine-made products are eligible, and your purchase must exceed Arg. Pesos 70 to be entitled to a refund.

Carrefour        Salguero 3212, Tel.40112700
                        46 stores in capital and 19 outside.
Fallabella        Florida 343/202, Tel. 59505000/5060
                        (Three, of which two are in the capital.)
Coto                 (150 out of which 50 in the capital), the largest Argentine
                        chain
Jumbo              (11 of which 4 are in the capital)
Wal-Mart        (5, of which one is in the capital)
C & A               (5 stores in the capital)

NOTE: Florida and Lavalle are the famous shopping streets in Buenos Aires. They are over two km. long each. Cars are not allowed, they are for pedestrians only.

Summer holidays are from 20 December to 15 February. Visitors should avoid this period.

January 1                         New Year’s Day
March 24                          Memorial Day                 
April 2                              Malvinas Day
April 10                           Good Friday & Easter      
May 1                               Labour Day                     
May 25                             May Revolution               
June 20                            National Flag Day            
July 9                               Independence Day 
August 17                         San Martin Day      
October 12                       Colombus Day
December 25                    Christmas
Summer holidays are from 20 December to 15 February. Visitors should avoid this period.

Sheraton Retiro
San Martin 1225
(54 11) 4318 9000
www.starwood.com

Sheraton Libertador
Avenida Cordoba 660
(54 11)4321 0000
www.libertador-hotel.com.ar

Hilton
Macacha Quemes 351
(54 11) 4891 0000
www.buenos.hilton.com

Marriott Plaza Hotel
Florida 1005
(54 11) 4318 3000
www.marriottplazahotel.com.ar

Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires
Posadas 1086
(54 11) 4321 1200
www.fourseasons.com

Alvear Palace Hotel (historic & the most expensive)
Avenida Alvear 1891
(54 11 ) 4808 2100
www.alvearpalace.com

NH City Hotel Bolivar 160
(54 11) 4121 6464/ 6400
www.nh-hotels.com

Intercontinental
Moreno 809
(54 11) 4340 7100
www.buenos-aires.intercontinental.com

Aspen Towers
Paraguay 857
(54 11) 4313 1919
www.aspentowers.com.ar

El Conquistador
Suipacha 948
(54 11) 4328 3012
www.elconquistador.com.ar

Regente Palace Hotel
Suipacha 964/66/68
(54 11) 4328 6800
www.regente.com

Aspen Tower and Suites (with kitchenette facility)
Esmeralda 933
(54 11) 4313 1272
www.aspensuites.com.ar

Carlsson Hotel
Viamonte 650
(54 11)4322 3601/3701

Castelar Hotel
Avenida De Mayo 1152,
(54 11) 4383 5001

Travel agency:

Visitors can use this agency (in the Embassy panel) for hotel and transportation and tours.

Central Holiday Tour
Av Pte Roque Saenz Peña 995, 3B
1035 Buenos Aires.
[Contact person: Mr. Francesco Durante Pace]
Tel./Fx  011-4326-2748, 4325-4578
fdurante@central-holiday.com.ar
www.central-holiday.com.ar

Buenos Aires is a cosmopolitan city with a large number of restaurants with food from different regions of the world. PARRILLA (barbecue) is a typical Argentine restaurant where beef steak is the main dish. There are buffet restaurants called TENEDOR LIBRE (Chinese) which offers unlimited food at fixed price of around US$ 5/-.
Food and local wine are less expensive in dollar terms.

There are about 200 Indians in Buenos Aires; half of them are those who are settled in the country for over 15 years. Many of them are from the Sindhi community. The Sindhis are in textile business importing from India, China and Hong Kong and in wholesale and retail business.
The other half of the Indian community, which is growing in recent years, consists of professionals coming to work with Indian and multinational companies.