VGS 2007 to see traditional industries as favourites
Monday, January 01, 2007 12:44 [IST]
Ahmedabad: The Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2007 is generating
more investor interest in traditional industries than in ports or special
economic zones (SEZs), much to the surprise of the state government.
It was widely believed that after the road shows by Chief
Minister Narendra Modi in India
and abroad, the number of proposals for SEZs and ports-related projects would
overshadow inquiries in other sectors. But a perusal of registrations shows the outcome is the
other way round. An analysis reveals that the chemicals sector has topped the
list of investors' interest with 50 registrations, followed by 45 from
engineering, auto and ceramic sectors.
If textiles, apparels and agro food sectors are added, the
tally far outweighs the 38 registrations received for SEZs and ports.
The schedules of one-to-one meetings being drawn up for the
two-day summit being held at Ahmedabad's Science City
during Jan 12-13 reveal the same pattern.
Officials said the picture could change as inquiries were
still flowing in. But the conflicting signals emanating from India on SEZs following the pronouncements by
Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the views expressed by the Reserve Bank of India
governor may have made prospective investors cautious.
Even otherwise, since July the environment had not been
conducive to the summit.
The state has in the last six months lost a prestigious new
car project of General Motors to Maharashtra
and an Apollo Tyres project to Tamil Nadu.
Both companies have a presence in Gujarat
and investments by them for projects by way of expansion would have provided a
shot in the arm for the state.
The most significant aspect of the decisions was that
Maharastra and Tamil Nadu were praised as states pursuing a pro-active approach
to attracting investments by the managements of both companies.
The other worrying aspect is that no big business house at
home has shown an indication about investing in the state. Reliance Industries,
for instance, has announced massive investment to develop a minor port at Rewas
in Maharashtra. It recently also promised
Rs.25 billion investment in Madhya Pradesh.
The Aditya Birla group, India's
second largest big business house, has made it known that it has no plans to
make investments in Gujarat.
Kumar Mangalam Birla, while addressing the Ahmedabad
Management Association's golden jubilee celebrations, praised Modi's leadership
in evolving excellent policies for growth but said his group was focused on
executing projects already on hand.
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