“Tamil Nadu is a land of potential and we look at it as a full fledged partner for Italian firms,” said Giacomo Sanfelice di Monteforte, Italian Ambassador to India, here on Wednesday.
Addressing the members of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at a seminar on “Doing business with Tamil Nadu”, he said they were in the country exploring the investment and business potential that could contribute to the growth of Tamil Nadu and Italian economy as well and how both could benefit from it jointly.
“Tamil Nadu has been the driving force of Indian economy and it is the preferred destination for foreign investors. Tamil Nadu is performing well and its growth rate is close to 15 per cent. It is one of the best states in India. The south, especially Tamil Nadu, is attracting more foreign investment than other states and it is one of the clear signs of attractiveness of the State,” he said.
Tracing the historic ties between Tamil Nadu and Italy, he said the current focus was on exploring new ways for improving economic and general political relations.
When the visiting Italian delegation narrated their ordeal in getting land for one of the entrepreneurs in Ranipet, Industries Minister S.P. Velumani sanctioned it on the spot and said the State was willing to extend a helping hand to them. In his inaugural address, Mr. Velumani said in the next few months, the State would attract projects worth over Rs.20,000 crore that are under various stages of finalisation.
He also said that Italy viewed India as an emerging economic power in the world and as an important economic partner in Asia. Within India, Tamil Nadu proved to be a safe haven for the Italian firms owing to factors such as ideal business climate and healthy socio-economic reforms.
N Sundaradevan, Principal Secretary, Industries, said Tamil Nadu had 44 Italian firms and it would touch 100 very soon. While stating that the manufacturing cost was cheaper in the State due to availability of skilled labour, he urged the Italian entrepreneurs to produce products that were suitable for Indian firms and Indian market.
T.T. Ashok, Chairman, CII Southern Region, called for strengthening the tie-up between the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in India and Italy and said that there was lot of scope for improving the business volumes on both the sides in several sectors.
Paolo Zegna, Vice President for International Affairs, Confindustria, said that the delegation was in India to find more constructive ways to collaborate with each other in several areas.
Pierfrancesco Gaggi, Director, ABI (Italian Banks' Association) said they were interested to set up business links with Tamil Nadu as it had a strong education system. Carlo Longo, vice president, Unioncamere, said they were ready to collaborate with Indian firms in the fields of textiles, automotive, infrastructure and services.
A 100-member business delegation visited New Delhi on Monday and Tuesday and they will be in Chennai till Thursday. They represent automotive, renewable energy, construction, real estate, engineering, logistics and machineries.
