Nothing seems to dampen the spirit of Gujarat's textile industry when it comes to investments. Inspite of the issues arising due to rising input costs, the state government is expecting to witness MoUs worth Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) in textile sector at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor's Summit 2009.
During the summit, the state government will be luring several textile machinery manufacturers from overseas to set up base in the state.
"Unlike European makers, machinery from east Asia is cost competitive. Given the current slump in the market due to rising input costs, the focus is to bring in appropriate machinery at minimum cost. With Chinese, Taiwanese and Korean makers setting up units in Gujarat, the domestic players will get relief in terms of import duties and other costs," said Chandan Chatterjee, general manager -- projects and technology at iNDEXTb.
According to him, the state will market itself as an investment destination offering all kinds of help for setting up cost-effective manufacturing facilities. "While countries such as China and Korea may be equal or better in terms of infrastructure, we are ready to provide all kind of facilities to them at cheaper cost," he said.
The summit will also feature a buyer-seller meet for the textile industry and the state government is luring some international brands such as Marks & Spencer, J C Penny and Armani.
"The government intends to develop quality standards of the domestic textile market. The presence of international brands will motivate domestic manufacturers to go for better quality. Brands such as Marks & Spencer, J C Penny and Armani do source from India, especially from the Gujarat market, but there are hardly any technological collaboration between these brands and domestic players. We hope to see many of these brands even set up their offices in Gujarat instead of Mumbai," said Chatterjee.
During the last Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor's Summit 2007, the industry had witnessed MoUs worth Rs 8,500 crore (Rs 85 billion). Of these, around 85 per cent of projects are under implementation or commissioned already, added Chatterjee.