Following Kitex group’s announcement that it has decided against investing Rs 3,500 crore in Kerala, the group on Thursday, July 8 announced that the Telangana government has invited company representatives for a meeting on Friday. Kitex in a statement said that the meeting is aimed at discussing the possibility of the firm making an investment in Telangana.
The meeting is scheduled to happen at 1pm over lunch and the representatives from the Kitex group will be meeting IT minister KT Rama Rao in Hyderabad. According to sources, Telangana has already finished one round of talks with the group. The Kakatiya Textile Park in Warangal is where Telangana is going to pitch as the proposed location. According to officials, Telangana’s single window clearance system, higher easier of doing business ranking and the availability of water, electricity and land are the factors that will give the state an edge over the others.
On June 29, the owner and chairman of Kitex Garments, Sabu M Jacob, said that the company has decided to withdraw investing Rs 3,500 crores in Kerala, which was signed during the 'Ascend Global Investors Meet’ held in January 2020. He cited alleged harassment by the government departments as the reason behind this and claimed they conducted nearly 10 raids in one month’s time. He termed it a “witch hunt”. Sabu M Jacob also recently said that after he announced the decision to withdraw the investment, many other state governments have contacted him, inviting him to invest in their states.
READ: Tamil Nadu invites Kitex to invest after company withdraws project in Kerala
On Thursday, the group said that a team of representatives from Kitex, including owner Sabu M Jacob will fly to Hyderabad at the invitation of the Telangana government. Further stating that the Telangana government has arranged a private jet for the Kitex representatives to attend the meeting. “It is as per the direct invitation of Industries Minister (of Telangana) KT Rama Rao, our team is going to Hyderabad. Telangana government’s private jet will reach Kochi for this on Friday,” Kitex said in a statement.
It added that the Telangana government has promised the best facilities for the company to make their investment. “Earlier, Sabu M Jacob had held discussions with Minister KT Rama Rao and other top officials, via phone. After Kitex announced its decision to withdraw from investment projects in Kerala, nine other states have approached the firm with promises to make investments,” it added.
Kitex's announcement to withdraw the investment sparked a controversy, with the Kerala government facing criticism from a section of people. However, many eminent industrialists including Lulu group’s Yusuf Ali, urged Kitex to stay in the state. Meanwhile, the Kerala government came out stating that it will intervene in the matter. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stated that Kerala remains one of the most investor-friendly states in the country.