16 companies from the country to sign memoranda of understanding with T.N. govt.

Sixteen Japanese companies, including Toshiba Machine Co and Yamaha Music, among others, will sign memoranda of understanding with the Tamil Nadu government, Kenji Hiramatsu, Ambassador of Japan to India, has said.

Toshiba Machine would be investing ₹200 crore and BBL Daido will be investing ₹22 crore, he said.

Japan is also looking to increase air connectivity to India and announced that All Nippon Airways (ANA) will start seven days a week direct flights between Narita and Chennai from October, Mr. Hiramatsu said.

“This new connectivity will pave the way for new business and investment opportunities for Japanese companies,” he said. “It is hard to ignore the growth potential of Chennai and when the nearby cities of Bangalore and Hyderabad are factored in, the case for expansion becomes overwhelming,” All Nippon Airways general manager India Yasuo Taki said.

“We look forward to offering services to Chennai in the years to come and hope we can play a part in bringing the best of this dynamic city to the world,” Mr. Taki added.

Chennai will become the third city served by ANA after Delhi and Mumbai. There are plans to start a full-fledged campaign to promote the tourist flows between Tamil Nadu and Japan with the help of the State government, Mr. Hiramatsu added.

Currently, out of 1,441 Japanese companies operating in India, 201 are present in Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu has three industrial townships developed by Japanese companies – OneHub Chennai, Sojitz, Motherson and Sumitomo Mahindra industrial park. Mr. Hiramatsu said the existing companies were looking to expand, while Japan is looking to diversify into sectors where new companies would come and invest in the future. He also expressed satisfaction over the progress of phase 1 of Chennai Metro project, which was funded by Japan.