Tamil Nadu CM leaves for 9-day foreign trip to attract investments

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday embarked on a nine-day tour of Singapore and Japan, stating that his visit was aimed at attracting more investments to the state.

Stalin said his similar visit to Dubai last year had resulted in signing of pacts with six investors to the tune of Rs 6,100 crore that would ensure 15,100 job opportunities.

Two of them have started the works, he told reporters at the airport in a pre-departure media interaction.

"The key motive of this visit (to Singapore and Japan) is to extend invitation (to investors) for the 2024 Global Investors Meet," the Chief Minister said.

He will meet prospective investors by way of conferences during his official visit and some deals are also slated to be signed, he added.

Stalin added that ever since the DMK came to power in mid-2021, Rs 2,95,399 crore worth investments have been "confirmed" after 226 memoranda of understanding were signed. When fully implemented, these would usher in jobs to over 4.12 lakh people, he said.

The main opposition AIADMK, however, questioned Stalin's foreign visit. Party general secretary and Leader of Opposition in Assembly K Palaniswami alleged that in the name of attracting investments, the Chief Minister had embarked on a "pleasure trip".

He said the Global Investors Meet held by his government in 2019 attracted over Rs 3 lakh crore investments and that the pace of starting new businesses slowed down in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic.

However, many investors had started the works in early 2021 and only as a continuation of this new initiatives were underway in the present government, Palaniswami claimed.

In a statement, he alleged the ruling DMK was claiming credit for these investments ensured in the previous regime.

"The Chief Minister who had embarked on an earlier pleasure trip to Dubai with his family has undertaken a similar visit to Singapore and Japan in the name of attracting investments," Palaniswami charged.