Tamil Nadu pitches its best foot forward for Global Investors Meet

In an exclusive to DTNext, K Gnanadesikan, Additional Chief Secretary to the Tamil Nadu Government, Industries Department, talks about the efforts taken by the state to attract top of the line investors from across the globe to leverage the diversified industrial ecosystem here.

The official says, “We have been working on the run-up to the upcoming event in a systematic manner. We first started with the international roadshows where a team of officials led by the TN Industries Minister first went to Thailand. Our team held meetings with major electronics and power company, Delta and it has shown an interest in participation. Subsequently, we went to Taiwan, with a delegation led by me. It was a rewarding undertaking as we met the team from Foxconn, one of the largest electronics contract manufacturers globally. The company officials were happy with Tamil Nadu and we have requested them to expand their presence in Chennai. There are already 15,000 workers employed in their Sriperumbudur unit, which manufactures electronic gadgets.”

As the vendor ecosystem is key to the auto business, the TN delegation also met the top officials of Hyundai and their vendors in Seoul. Gnanadesikan says, “Hyundai has already committed to expand its capacity to 1 lakh vehicles p.a. with an investment of Rs 7,000 crore. The vendor ecosystem is also present in a big way here. So, we met two Korean majors in the automotive space, including an OEM. We also met 10 or 15 other vendors – one of whom is keen on expanding its presence in Chennai.”

Pitching for industrial parks: The Japanese officials from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) expressed a keen interest in signing a Memorandum of Cooperation between TN and METI on Japanese industrial townships for expanding upon the existing industrial townships in TN like the Omega Industrial Township, Sojitz-Motherson and Sumitomo Mahindra). The delegation had also conducted a successful seminar in Osaka on investing in TN.

A team led by Industry Minister MC Sampath had also met officials in UK, France, Singapore and China and several Chinese companies have shown an interest in investing in TN. The US leg of the visits headed by the minister included meetings with officials from the US State and Commerce departments and company heads in Washington, Detroit and San Francisco.

Gnanadesikan, who was part of the team, tells us, “The top management of Honeywell met with us and said they were pleased with their operations in Madurai, which is slowly turning into a key deliverer of advanced hi-tech aerospace software. Similarly, in Washington, Gilead Sciences opined TN is pioneering health care interventions and is a model state in health care provision. The company, developing vaccines for various diseases like hepatitis B, said it would like to support the government in control of non-communicable diseases.”

In Detroit, the Ford bosses have ambitious plans for their R&D centre in Sholinganallur (its largest outside the US) and to transform it into a hotbed for futuristic technologies. Interestingly, Sakthi Automotive has a casting unit in Detroit, that employs 500 people. “It’s an Indian entrepreneur who has invested in Detroit, where most of the companies have moved out,” the official remarks.

The team met Tesla officials in San Francisco and urged them to consider TN as a manufacturing hub when they planned to venture into India. “We also met with the community of Tamil entrepreneurs in San Jose, many of whom were surprised to note that we are the second largest economy in India with auto majors making as many as 1.6 mn cars, second to Ulsan in Korea,” Gnanadesikan says.

On the status of TN, regarding Ease of Doing Business, he says, “For the first time, we have the Tamilnadu Business Facilitation Act & Rules, and a legally-empowered Industrial Guidance Bureau. Although it is a time-bound process, the single window is enabling composite clearances for MSMEs (with a turnover of less than Rs 10 cr) through the Commissionerate of Industries and Commerce (DIC). The premise of Ease of Business ranking is flawed as it does not consider parameters like logistics, quality of infrastructure, manpower and work ethic.”

On the upcoming state projects, he says, “A few months delay in the large Rs 5,000 crore LNG terminal project is understandable – the project will soon be commissioned. The pipeline will cater to the needs of MFL and CPCL in Manali. Similarly, a 1,000 km link is under way to connect Chennai to Thoothukudi and Ramanathapuram districts, thereby providing the gas for industrial and domestic utilities.