India conglomerate to invest $1 million in Alamo City

The City’s International Affairs department today announced that one of India’s fastest growing conglomerates will invest $1 million in the Alamo City. The Guidelines Group will establish an office in San Antonio and invest in the real estate, IT, trading and healthcare industries. The announcement comes four months after Mayor Phil Hardberger’s trade mission to India where he and other local leaders worked towards making Chennai, India San Antonio’s newest Sister City.

KV Asokan, chief executive of the Guidelines Group, met with San Antonio developers, manufacturers and distributors to explore business and consulting opportunities, coordinated by Elena Villarreal, global trade and investment manager of the International Affairs Department. In addition, San Antonio companies already doing business in Chennai hope to strengthen economic ties due to this new business venture. “We continue to forge meaningful results for San Antonio through global trade, culture and foreign direct investment,” said Beth Costello, director of the International Affairs Department. “It is our goal to accelerate these linkages for the community,” she added.

“This is exactly the kind of partnership we were hoping to create as a result of the Sister City agreement,” said Mayor Hardberger. “We hope this is the first of many more investments to come,” he added.

Another area of interest for the business delegation was San Antonio’s famed
Riverwalk. The city of Chennai is embarking upon the redevelopment of its own downtown river, a matter where San Antonio Riverwalk development experts can play a valuable role. The group met with local engineers and architects to learn how to develop a similar tourist destination in Chennai.

The Guidelines Group reports annual sales of more than $30 million dollars and has a workforce of 100. Their real estate group is considered the fastest growing India property service provider internationally.

India is the world’s largest democracy with the second fastest-growing economy and the third largest purchasing power. Chennai is considered to be India’s cultural capital and features one of India’s largest ports responsible for much of South India’s manufacturing boom. It’s a major export hub for cars into Southeast Asia and is home to nearly one-third of India’s automobile industry. In addition, Chennai is widely considered the healthcare capital of India having one of the largest facilities in Asia specializing in cutting-edge medical procedures.