The Tamil Nadu government has allotted 130 acre to Taiwan-based Hong Fu Group at Panapakkam SIPCOT in the state’s Ranipet district to set up a Rs 1,000-crore non-leather footwear unit. The proposed plant is expected to create 20,000 jobs.
Footwear manufacturer Hong Fu serves a host of global brands such as Nike, Puma and Converse, among others. The group had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government in this regard in April last year.
An official statement said land measuring 130 acre has been identified in Ranipet for the project and the allotment order was presented to Hong Fu president TY Chang in the presence of state industries minister Thangam Thennarasu during an event at the secretariat. The 20,000 jobs expected to be created would include 2,650 indirect ones.
The investments to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore by Hong Fu would be made in phases over the next 3-5 years and the unit would also boost footwear exports from the state.
“Tamil Nadu is putting its best foot forward in the global footwear industry as Hong Fu, a leading Taiwan-based footwear manufacturer, in cooperation with Florence Shoes, has been granted a land allotment order of 130 acre in Ranipet district,” Guidance Tamil Nadu, the state’s nodal agency for investment promotion and single-window facilitation, stated.
Hong Fu Group is one of the largest footwear manufacturers in the world and is in the process of opening new factories in Indonesia and India.
To boost the footwear sector, the Tamil Nadu government had in August 2022 unveiled the Footwear and Leather Products Policy 2022, through which it aimed to attract investments to the tune of Rs 20,000 crore and create over 200,000 jobs.
Under the policy, two special packages had been be offered — one for footwear and leather products (FLP) manufacturing and the other for FLP design studios. The state government had said the investments made from April 1, 2022, will be considered eligible for the incentives.