 "Tamil Nadu CM visits San Francisco, inks pact with Microchip, Nokia, PayPal")
The Tamil Nadu government has inked pacts with leading companies including Nokia, PayPal, Yield Engineering Systems, Microchip, Infinx, and Applied Materials for an investment commitment of Rs 900 crore and employment of 4,100 people in Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai, the government said on Friday.
Six companies signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) in the presence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and officials during the investors' meeting in San Francisco, an official release here said.
The chief minister, who is leading a high-level official delegation, is currently on a tour to the US till September 14 to attract investments into Tamil Nadu, as part of an ambitious goal to transform the state into a $1 trillion economy by 2030. He left for the US on August 27. He participated in a meeting with potential investors in San Francisco on Thursday.
An MoU was signed with Nokia, represented by Chief Strategy and Technology Officer Nishant Batra and President - Fixed Network Business Group Sandy Motley, for a new Nokia R&D Center, their Largest Fixed Network test bed in the world, for innovations in 10G, 25G, 50G, and 100G PON, Fixed Wireless Access, and MDU solutions, to be set up at SIPCOT, Siruseri, Chengalpattu at a cost of Rs 450 crore, generating 100 jobs.
The Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology and consumer electronics company is one of the Fortune 500 companies.
An agreement has also been signed with the American multinational financial technology company supporting online money transfers PayPal, represented by Srini Venkatesan and Zi-Yang David Fan, for an Advanced Development Centre focused on AI, to be set up at Chennai, generating 1,000 jobs.
The government also inked a pact with Yield Engineering Systems, headquartered in Fremont, California, represented by Ramakanth Alapati and Prabhat Mishra, for a product development & manufacturing facility for semiconductor equipment to be set up at Sulur, Coimbatore, at a cost of Rs 150 crore, generating 300 jobs.
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The TN government also signed an MoU with Microchip, headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, represented by Patrick Johnson and Bruce Weyer, for an R&D Centre in semiconductor technology to be set up at Semmancherry, Chennai, at a cost of Rs 250 crore, generating 1,500 jobs.
Globally, Microchip has many manufacturing facilities in countries like the USA, China, Thailand, South Korea etc. The company is one of the Fortune 500 companies. Microchip has been operating in Chennai since 2012, the release said.
A pact was inked with Infinx healthcare technology company, headquartered in San Jose, California, represented by Radhika Tandon, for a Technology and Global Delivery Centre to be set up at ELCOT Vadapalanji, Madurai, at a cost of Rs 50 crore, generating 700 jobs.
Another MoU was signed with Applied Materials, said to be the world's number one semiconductor and display equipment company, represented by Prabu Raja and Satheesh Kuppurao, for an Advanced AI-Enabled Technology Development Centre for Semiconductor Manufacturing & Equipment to be set up at Taramani, Chennai, generating 500 jobs.
The firm's corporate headquarters is in Santa Clara, California.
Industries Minister T R B Rajaa and senior government officials were present during the signing of the agreements.
Speaking at the investors' conference, the chief minister said that Tamil Nadu has one of the fastest growing economies in the world today. With more than 39,000 factories and 2.6 million industrial workers, Tamil Nadu is one of the leading industrial states in India, he said.
Tamil Nadu has a large share in India's GDP and is the number one state in exports in the country in electronics, motor vehicle and spares and Textiles sectors. The state topped the Export Readiness Index too, Stalin said.
"Our aspirational goal is to make Tamil Nadu a USD 1 trillion economy by 2030. To achieve this, we are focusing on attracting capital-intensive and employment-generating industries. Such a two-pronged approach is now yielding positive results," he said.
Numerous American companies have set up their projects in Tamil Nadu and negotiations are on with several other companies. "We welcome your further investments... We can grow only through mutual friendship," a release quoting Stalin emphasised while requesting the companies that already have a presence to further expand their businesses.
"The first day in San Francisco has set a promising tone for the days to follow! Secured investments exceeding Rs 900 crore for Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, and Chengalpattu, paving the way for 4,100 new jobs in multiple sectors," the Chief Minister said in a post on social media platform X.
"With two more weeks ahead, we continue to intensify this momentum and attract more investors to Tamil Nadu, propelling our march towards a trillion dollar economy," Stalin further said.
In another post he said, "An invigorating evening at the investors' conclave where we had dynamic discussions, inviting global investors to Tamil Nadu, the land of boundless potential and vast opportunities. Let's chase our dream with steadfast determination."
The chief minister will address the Tamil community on August 31. He will be holding discussions with representatives from the US-based companies at Chicago on September 2 and urge them to invest in Tamil Nadu.
During his trip, he will also be meeting the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. The CM will return to Chennai on September 14.