Tamil Nadu welcomes Taiwanese Investments Post-pandemic

While the Covid-19 pandemics was ravaging India, Chief Minister M.K Stalin of Tamil Nadu, who was sworn-in on 7 May, spared no time to tackle the rampant predicament immediately.  By effectively enforcing state-wide lock-down, Tamil Nadu has seen a drastic decrease of caseload of infections from around 36,000 in May to less than 6,000 currently.  Meanwhile, to revive economy, attract investments and create job opportunities, CM Stalin invited Director General Ben Wang of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in Chennai for a meeting to exchange views on bilateral cooperation and to promote investments and operations in Tamil Nadu in the post-pandemic era.

  It has been known that the state of Tamil Nadu has listed Taiwan as one of the top five source of investment beside the US, Japan, Korea and Singapore.  It is further anticipated that the Tamil Nadu government could give incentives and provide essential service to attract a multitude of Taiwanese investors. The idea of forming a Taiwan Cluster in Tamil Nadu has been brought up for a while.

Director General Ben Wang reiterated that India is a targeting partner in align with Taiwan’s New South Bound Policy.  India has a market full of potentials that Taiwan government has not changed its course encouraging investing in India even when an astounding violent eruption happened to a manufacturer in the neighbouring state a few months back.

According to DG Ben Wang, however, the pandemic disruption in India compounded with a newly-found virus variant is still alarming which keeps slowing down investment activities. He suggested that the TN government nonetheless prepare ahead by reviewing policies and regulations on foreign investments and revising if needed.  Referencing a stalled Taiwanese investment project in India, DG Ben Wang attributed investors’ hesitation to a lack of proactiveness from local authorities. He mentioned that currently there is a renowned investor who is highly interested in developing an industrial park in Chennai.  The support from the TN government will help get the industrial park project off the ground. And, once the industrial park operates, there is a great possibility of formation of a Taiwan Cluster.

Taiwanese businessmen are fully aware that Tamil Nadu has an advantage to attract business operations, which includes warm climate, social stability, deep-water sea port in Chennai offering international connectivity.  Dubbed as Indian Detroit, Chennai is the home to many conventional vehicle manufacturers.  Taiwan, on the other hand, leads in production of semi-conductor and IC products.  For Taiwanese investors, electronic vehicle manufacturing will be a promising business opportunity.

DG Ben Wang recapped that EV sector is a rising star industry.  From the policy perspective, Indian government has announced a ban on using vehicles generated by fossil fuel by 2030.  In terms of logistics, electronic vehicles have to be locally manufactured.  Thus, it is expected to see an upward trend in demand in batteries, power charging facilities and internet services in the next decade.  Besides, India is situated in the center of South Asia covering a vast market with a population of 2 billion.  There is no doubt that India is a favourable destination with enormous business opportunities for Taiwanese investors.

DG Ben Wang added that the basics matters when it comes to attracting foreign investments.  By this he meant that the TN government, apart from creating an investor friendly environment, should actively respond to investors’ need and remove obstacles encountered.  This would include assistance in a steady supply in water and power, land acquisition, customs streamlining and visa-immigration related issues. The last but not the least, incentives should be delivered as promised.  He highlighted that as long as all the conditions are met, there is no reason for Taiwanese investors not to come to TN to set up business operations.

During the meeting, DG Ben Wang extended an invitation to CM Stalin to visit Taiwan at the latter’s convenience during the post-pandemic era. The visit will be an opportunity for CM Stalin and his delegation to meet with business leaders and to promote bilateral cooperation.  CM Stalin thanked DG Ben Wang for the invitation and a gift from Taiwan, an oxygen generator representing care from Taiwan and a joint effort to battle the pandemics.