Share of MSMEs in MoUs jumps to 77% at Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2019

Gujarat government stays mum on total investment figures attracted

The share of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in total memorandums of understanding (MoUs) at Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS) surged from 72 per cent in the previous 2017 edition to 77 per cent in 2019. 

Of the total 28,360 MoUs signed during the summit, up from 25,578 MoUs in the previous 2017 edition, about 77 per cent of them at 21889 came from MSMEs at the three-day VGGS 2019. 

As with the previous summit in 2017, this time too, the Gujarat government stayed away from immediately announcing the value of total investment commitment on the last day of VGGS.

"Investment figures are not important. What needs to be seen is that the summit has now grown into a platform for global and domestic industry to initiate and strengthen strategic tie-ups," Nitin Patel, deputy chief minister, Government of Gujarat told mediapersons on Sunday, while adding that the investment data was being collated. 

However, government sources indicated that business summits hosted by other states and Goods and Services Tax (GST), among other factors, have increased competition for the state in attracting large investments.

As a result, except for some of the large investment commitments worth Rs 4.02 trillion made by India Inc majors such as Reliance, Aditya Birla, Adani and Rosneft, and select sectoral investment figures, the total investment commitments made during the summit could not be ascertained.

Announcing key details of the summit, Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani said that all the MoUs put together have the potential to generate employment for 2.1 million people. As per the state government, while around 2,458 business-to-business (B2B) meetings were held this year as against 350 in the previous edition, business-to-government (B2G) meetings were 1,140, up from 260 last time. 

As against 12 in 2017, there were 15 partner countries at VGGS 2019, including Australia, Canada, France, Japan, South Africa, along with West Asian and European countries. Of the total 45,000 delegates from 135 countries including India, 3,040 were international delegates.

Offering a sectoral break-up of the MoUs, Patel said agro and food processing sector saw 408 MoUs, Power, Oil& Gas including renewable saw 548, Urban development sector had 1,516, other mineral-based industries had 977, while engineering and auto sector had 197, and environment and forest sector, 313. 

In the renewable energy sector, based on MoUs signed and commitments made, investments of at least Rs 1 trillion will flow in for the production and distribution through private sector players such Suzlon, Torrent Power, Adani Green Energy, among others. “The next five years are going be the golden years for Renewable Energy (RE) in Gujarat. The Government is in the process of developing hybrid parks of 30 Mw in Kutch and will export the this energy to other states. Gujarat has already announced it will set up a unique 5,000-Mw Ultra mega solar park in Dholera. An expression of Interest has already been carried out and GUVNL will issue request for price proposal for first 1,000-Mw capacity at Dholera SIR," said Saurabh Patel, minister for energy, Government of Gujarat.

In the agro and food processing sector, 474 investment intentions and 57 strategic partnership intentions totalling 531 intentions of which 16 were by international companies or nations. Among these, Nabard signed an MoU for capitalization of Rs 31800 crore of funds for its various projects over two years. UAE's Emaar Group signed an MoU of Rs 3,400 crore for setting up a food processing facility at Kandla in Kutch.

A unit for manufacturing castor oil and its high value-added derivatives at a cost of Rs 501 crore was proposed by Jayant Agro-Organics Limited.

Besides, the first two days of the summit had seen an additional Rs 60,000 crore of investments, apart from the big ticket announcements worth Rs 4.02 trillion from India Inc majors. In value terms, prominent was the MoU by China-based Tsingshan Group for a commitment of Rs 21,000 crore to set up a steel plant in Dholera SIR. 

In the port and transport sector, Essar Group announced an intended cumulative investment of Rs 7,485 crore for development of port based smart city and an LNG terminal at Hazira. The port and transport sector also investment intention being made by Adani Group for Rs 3,500 crore across three projects, including development of captive jetty at Kori Creek, cargo handling terminal at Mundra and Ro-Ro Ferry facility at Mundra.

Another key MoU was signed by Petronet LNG Ltd with Govt of Gujarat for Rs 2,100 crore for expansion project of its existing LNG Port Terminal at Dahej. Similarly, HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Ltd. signed an MoU for Rs 1,400 crore for development of single point mooring system and crude oil terminal at Mandvi in Kutch. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd made an investment intention of Rs 1,350 crore for LPG Import facilities along with jetty at Dahej Port and LPG cavern and pumping facilities at Ankleshwar.