Kitex group to hold talks with Telangana govt on investment plans

MD of Kitex plans to discuss mammoth investment of Rs 3,500 crore in the State in apparel business

Hyderabad: In what may eventually turn out to be a major coup in the industrial arena, Sabu M Jacob, managing director of Kerala-based leading garment exporter, Kitex Garment Limited, will fly down to Hyderabad on Friday by a chartered flight arranged by the Telangana government to discuss a mammoth investment of Rs 3,500 crore in the State in the apparel business.

“Telangana is the number one State in the country when it comes to providing a business-friendly atmosphere. There is something about Telangana that has been attracting investors in the past few years, and that made the State my first priority,” Jacob said in an exclusive chat with Telangana Today over phone late on Thursday evening.

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The Kitex MD’s visit follows a direct invitation from IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao after several rounds of talks with officials in the past one week and the Minister himself on a couple of occasions including “one long discussion with KTR” as Jacob put it.

The developments come in the wake of Jacob’s announcement on June 29 that he was pulling out of Kerala following differences with the administration there. “Since then, several States, nine to be precise, have been calling me up including some Chief Ministers offering business opportunities in their respective States. But I zeroed in on Telangana State because of its progressive approach. I liked Rama Rao’s approach, his clarity, his confidence among other factors,” he said, adding that he was also aware of the rapid strides Telangana was making in the textiles sector including the Mega Textile Park in Warangal.

Apart from Jacob, the delegation is expected to comprise Directors Benny Joseph and KLV Narayanan, Vice president (Operations) Harkishan Singh Sodhi, CFO Bobby Michael and General Manager Saji Kurian.

Kitex, one of the largest infant-wear makers in the world with an export turnover of around Rs1,000 crore, had recently announced that it was withdrawing from a proposal to invest Rs 3,500 crore to build an apparel park and three industrial parks in Kerala which could provide jobs to 35,000 people.

The proposal was originally submitted by Kitex Garments at an investors’ conference in January 2020 organised by the government of Kerala. The Kitex group makes products ranging from lungis and aluminium roofing sheets to spice powders and is based at Kizhakkambalam panchayat near Kochi.

 

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