A second invasion of Chennai

It`s an invasion of a different sorts on Chennai! A second one at that! From the first invasion of the Portuguese, French,Dutch and the British empires who landed in erstwhile Chennaipattanam centuries ago, the city has now become a hot spot for foreigners of a different genre - the multinational companies (MNCs).

Foreign firms are queuing up to set up shops in this once quiet and conservative city. A sizeable number of MNCs have already opened their Indian arm with their full-fledged facilities located in and around Chennai. With industrial activity peaking in the city, especially in the auto ancillary sector, the city has rightly earned its acronym as Detroit of South India.

Skilled manpower, infrastructure, investor-friendly government, availability of raw materials and the advantage of twin ports (Chennai and Ennore) have forced MNCs to enlist Chennai in all their India expansion plans.

Sriperumbudur, the temple town of Tamil Hindu saint Ramanuja that is about 45 km from Chennai, is now home to foreign conglomerates such as Hyundai, Nokia, Samsung, Flextronics, Motorola, Dell Computers, Foxconn and a few others. A quick look at some of the MNCs present in the vicinity of Chennai.