Mega investments on anvil in Punjab: CM Mann after Japan-Korea tour

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 10

Mega investments are on the anvil in the state, said Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann after returning from a tour of Japan and South Korea where he had gone to seek industrial investment.

Projecting Mohali as the “most preferred destination”, he said the overwhelming response from investors during his visit to the two nations would mark a new milestone in the state’s industrial progress.

He said Mohali had the best universities producing skilled workforce, good air, rail and road connectivity, and well-planned infrastructure.

“It is the city of the future as Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Ahemdabad have become too congested. New investors look for better living conditions. We are ready to welcome all investors who want to come to Punjab — the destination for future growth,” he said.

Mann said all Japanese and Korean industry doyens they met during the 10-day tour were impressed with what his government was offering in terms of ease of doing

business as well as fiscal incentives. “Not just Mohali, within a 100 km radius, there are many other universities. Industry-ready talent is waiting for them in Punjab,” he said. “The Japanese and Koreans have hi-end technology and the city has the perfect ecosystem to promote hi-tech and innovation industry. This paves the way for symphony between technology and talent,” he said. When these investors come to Punjab, either to set up greenfield projects or explore the possibility to go in for brownfield expansions of their current projects (such as Aichi Steel Corp, Toppan Speciality Films, Oji Holdings, Yanmar and Isuzu), it will give the much-needed impetus to industrial development of the state, he said.

The contribution of the industry to Punjab’s gross value added is over 27 per cent, with the manufacturing sector growing at 4.6 per cent, having presence in textiles, chemicals and engineering goods. The Mann government, realising that the only way to resurrect the state’s sagging economy is by getting industrial investment has now been pushing to get investors. The state is set to unveil its industrial policies for various industrial sectors to get more investment.

The CM, while giving details of investors he met along with Industry Minister Sanjeev Arora, said most company representatives they held meetings with were in research and development, EV mobility and skill development initiatives.

“Companies such as Honda Motor Co have evinced interest in exploring component manufacturing, while a non-binding MoU was signed between Invest Punjab and Toppan for a skill excellence centre. Korean companies such as Nogshim have also given a positive response,” he said, adding that most of the industrialists he met in the two countries would be coming to Punjab for the Investment Summit between March 14 and 16.