Chennai attracts Japanese companies

Chennai: The "recent remarkable economic growth" of India, especially in the vicinity of Chennai, is attracting the attention of Japanese companies, according to Akinobu Yasumoto, vice-chairman and senior executive director of the Japan Machinery Federation.

He was addressing a meeting organised here on Monday by the Indo-Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry with a delegation from the Federation. The visit would facilitate further exchange between the machinery industries of India and Japan, he said.
The Federation members included major machinery industry corporations and sector-specific industry associations, Mr. Yasumoto said.

People associated with the visit said the delegation members visited industries at and around Maraimalai Nagar, near Chennai, including an upcoming special economic zone.
Tamil Nadu Industrial Guidance and Export Promotion Bureau director M. Velmurugan said the visit was important, and the State offered it a plenty of business opportunities. Further, the market potential for machinery in the country was high.
Assuring them of the Government's support, Mr. Velmurugan said many foreign companies were queuing up to invest in the State.

Japanese Consul General Yoshiaki Kodaki said the visit was pointer to the importance attached by the Federation to India and the future of Indo-Japan relations. India was now the second most preferred destination, after China, for foreign direct investment by Japanese companies.
Japan was keen on strengthening its ties with India, he said, pointing out that the negotiation for an economic partnership agreement between the two countries had started aiming at a deal in two years.

IJCCI secretary-general N. Krishnaswami said the Chamber, which planned to take sector-specific delegation to Japan, could also take a small delegation of machinery manufacturers from Tamil Nadu.