TN’s GIM kicks-off; targets Rs 2 lakh cr investment

Tamil Nadu on Wednesday kicked-off its two-day Global Investors’ Meet hoping to garner investments to the tune of Rs 2 lakh crore in sectors like automobile, smartphones and infrastructure.

The second edition of GIM, an initiative started by the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in 2015, also saw the Tamil Nadu Government’s Aerospace and Defence Policy being unveiled by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The state government has already identified 250 acres of land in Sriperumbudur, which already houses companies like Hyundai, Foxconn and Dell, to set up an exclusive Aerospace & Defence park which can be expanded up to 700 acres. Some of the major investments so far announced have come from Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn, Hyundai Motors, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Adani Ports, while the rest are to be announced on Thursday, when the meet draws to a close.

IOC also announced an investment of Rs 7,941 crores in the next five years, which would generate direct employment for 9,200 people and indirect employment for around 10,600 people.

Though the amount of money to be invested by Foxconn was not disclosed by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, sources said the investment could be around USD 360 million and the Taiwanese company would assemble high-end smartphones, including those designed by Apple.

“I would like to share with you that our Government has approved an investment proposal by Foxconn to assemble premium brand smartphones at Sriperumbudur,” Palaniswami told the GIM being attended by investors from across the globe.

The state government is expecting investment proposals to the tune of Rs 2 lakh crore, though only 30 % of the total investments pledged during the first edition of GIM has been realised so far. Hyundai Motors announced an investment of Rs 7,000 crore for manufacturing electric cars close to its existing plant in Sriperumbudur.

Transfer of tech

Noting that Tamil Nadu has become the second largest state economy in India, contributing 8.4 % to the country’s GDP, Palaniswami said the 1992 Industrial Policy unveiled by his late boss, J Jayalalithaa, had paved the way for the state to attract auto majors like Ford and Hyundai.

On the Aerospace and Defence Production Policy, Palaniswami said 35 companies from Tamil Nadu have already signed Transfer of Technology agreements with DRDO, including MRF, which manufactures Aero-muscle Tyre indigenously developed for Sukhoi fighter jets of the Indian Air Force.

The policy has been released within four days of the Union Government launching a Defence Industrial Corridor in Tamil Nadu. Speaking at the event, Sitharaman said the introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) was the “biggest reform” taken as part of “systemic reforms” that were taken up with courage.

“We maintain the growth well above 6.5 (%), sometimes touching 7 and IMF’s prediction is that we are likely to be over 7 % in the coming years too,” she said.