CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu on Thursday signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) involving at least Rs 425 crore in proposed investments and more than 2,900 planned jobs, with global firms Chubb, Nordex, MotiveLink and the University of Western Australia announcing expansion and new projects in the state. The MotiveLink investment marked a notable win for Tamil Nadu after the South Korean company was also courted by Andhra Pradesh.
The agreements were signed at an event hosted by Guidance Tamil Nadu, the state's investment promotion agency, in the presence of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay. Addressing the gathering, the CM said the investments would strengthen Tamil Nadu's position as a global hub for global capability centres (GCCs), research and development, higher education and advanced manufacturing, and assured continued government support for investors.
South Korea's MotiveLink, along with DNM Autopower — a joint venture with Dong Yang E&P — announced the largest disclosed investment of the day, committing Rs 300 crore for an electric vehicle components manufacturing facility at SIPCOT Pillaipakkam in Kancheepuram district. The project is expected to generate 1,500 direct and indirect jobs.
The facility will manufacture coils, printed circuit boards, magnetic components, housings, transformers and filters for export to European and North American markets under a "Make in Tamil Nadu for the Global Market" strategy. MotiveLink will also serve as the anchor investor for a wider cluster of South Korean tier-1 suppliers.
The MotiveLink deal follows Industries Minister S. Keerthana's visit to South Korea in June. The company had also been approached by Andhra Pradesh, whose Information Technology, Electronics and Communications, Real Time Governance and Human Resources Development Minister Nara Lokesh met MotiveLink executives during his South Korea visit.
The University of Western Australia (UWA) will invest about Rs 125 crore to establish a 50,000 sq ft campus in Chennai's Velachery, its first campus in India. Scheduled to commence operations in October 2026, the project is expected to create more than 200 jobs.
UWA Vice-Chancellor Amit Chakma said the university would be the only Group of Eight Australian institution with a branch campus in Chennai. The campus will adopt a hub-and-spoke model to deepen research collaboration between India and Australia.
German wind turbine maker Nordex signed a facilitation MoU to establish an engineering and R&D centre in Chennai, expanding its existing global capability centre in the city. The project is expected to create around 1,000 jobs in its first phase across engineering, research and development, supply chain management and digital transformation.
Swiss insurer Chubb will establish its first global capability centre in Chennai, initially employing about 220 people in advanced analytics and engineering, with plans for further expansion. While Nordex and Chubb together account for 1,220 of the day's proposed jobs, neither company disclosed its investment outlay.
The signing ceremony was attended by Chief Secretary M Saikumar, Additional Chief Secretary N. Vijayakumar, Guidance Tamil Nadu Managing Director and Chief Executive Deepak Jacob, and senior representatives of the participating organisations.