Auto cos set to invest on expansion in Tamil Nadu

The automobile sector is set to receive a further push in Tamil Nadu with companies such as Yamaha, Ford and Mahindra & Mahindra set to pump in investments for expansion in the state.
Besides, it is expected to attract heavy investments in electronic manufacturing as it has declared Kanchipuram and Vellore as electronic clusters.
Tamil Nadu contributes about 25 per cent of the country's automobile output. The state has emerged as a preferred destination for vehicle manufacturers because of its proximity with ports and better infrastructure, Tamil Nadu Additional Chief Secretary C V Shankar told reporters today.
He is here for the road show, which will also be held in cities including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad for its Global Investors Meet 2015 to be held on May 23 and 24 at the Chennai Trade Centre. The state is targeting to attract Rs 1 lakh crore worth of investments from the meet.

"Yamaha is going to start 1.8 million plant which is ready for inauguration and latest entrant is Mahindra & Mahindra. These are the investments which have flown in and now they are consolidating in the state," he said.
Shankar further added that automakers have cumulatively invested around Rs 50,000 crore in the state.

"The investment would continue to grow because of the port and eco-system that has developed in the state. Each big company brings lot of vendors which has spare capacities and so more and more companies would come there," Shankar added.
When asked whether it has got any proposals from US auto maker Ford for expanding its capacity in the state, he said : "That is under discussion as they want to do something more on R&D. The discussion are going on... They would do some improvements in the existing plants".

The state was also in touch with French auto maker Peugeot for their possible manufacturing unit here. Ford, in 1995, had invested in Tamil Nadu first and was followed by South Korean manufacturer Hyundai, Renault Nissan, Daimler, BMW.
Apart from auto, the state is getting investments from electronic, renewable energy, textile, engineering goods.
"We want to go for electronic manufacturing in a big way. We have already declared two places as Kanchipuram and Vellore clusters. This is the key area where we are expecting lots of action," he said.
Apart from that, Hyderabad-based Nagarjuna Group which is putting in Rs 15,000 crore refinery in the state, will start the second phase of the plant with an investment of Rs 10,000 crore.

"The company is investing Rs 25,000 crore which is the largest private sector investment in the state," Nagarjuna Group Managing Director and CEO S Ramasundaram said.
Talking about the investors meet, he said that countries including Japan and France have confirmed their participation, while Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, Canada, UK, Israel, South Korea are expected to confirm their participation.
"Some of them are keen on electronic products. Many of them, particularly from Japan, are enquiring about ready built factories, industrial park where they can immediately move in," Shankar said.