Global Investors’ Summit: New investments missing, big groups disinvest in MP

Sravani Sarkar

NewsBits.in

Bhopal: While majority of their promised investments in Madhya Pradesh via previous Global Investors’ Summits (GISs) have failed to materialize, major industrial groups rather sold off their existing businesses in the state during past two years, minimizing their business stakes.

Among major examples of this disinvestment are that of the Jaypee Group that had during the GIS 2014 promised to set up a semiconductor wafer (microchip) fabrication unit near Bhopal at a massive investment of over Rs 34,000 crores.

However earlier this year the Jaypee Group withdrew from the semiconductor fab project, meaning that its promise for Madhya Pradesh is all but over.

Rather, the group sold off two of its cement plants in Bela and Sidhi to Ultatech Cements as part of Rs 16,500 crore deal.

The initial sale of the two plants occurred in December 2014, immediately after the GIS 2014, and was formalized in July this year.

The Jaypee Group also approved the sale of the prestigious Bina Thermal Power Plant to the JSW Energy Limited owned by Jindal family at base enterprise value of Rs 2700 crore.

Another disinvestment was by the Anil Ambani Group (Reliance Infrastructure) that sold off its two cement plants to Birla Corporation Limited earlier this year at the cost of Rs 4800 crores.

Ambani Group has been allotted 300 acre land at concessional rate for its defence park project in Pithampur and is also slated to receive a composite subsidy of about Rs 500 crore for its defence and aerospace park projects that would entail investment of Rs 4250 crores.

Group chairman Anil Ambani simply reiterated the Pithampur investment details during his address at the MPGIS2016 opening on Saturday in Indore.

Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan claimed at the opening ceremony that during last two years industrial units worth Rs 2.75 lakh crores had been set up in state.

INVESTMENTS FARCE, SAYS AAP

Meanwhile in a press conference on Saturday, the MP unit of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said that the MoUs worth lakhs of thousands crores claimed by the state government through GISs are merely a farce.

“Every two years, huge sum is spent on these events but hardly any investment materializes,” Alok Agrawal of AAP said adding that people of the state were being fooled.

As examples he cited, the 500 hectare Air Cargo hub promised in 2012 summit, the promise of Future Group to set up Rs 2500 crore food park in both 2012 and 2014 summits and the proposed investments Vellore University, Film City, Bharat Forge, Rockland Hospital, Cadilla Group, American Copper Limited and others.

Agrawal said that according to ASSOCHAM report, about 86.5% projects remained consigned to files and that new investment in infrastructure sector dipped by 76.9% between 2008-2015.

According to CAG report of 2015, the state Industrial Development Corporation acquired 5720 acre land between 2009 and 2014 but allotted only 1750 acre. None of the 302 applications for setting up 27 industrial parks around Bhopal materialized, the AAP leader said.