The world's largest branded sports footwear producer, Pou Chen, has decided to invest Rs 2,302 crore ($280.86 million) to build a factory in Tamil Nadu.

In 2022, the Taiwanese company that manufactures shoes for companies like Adidas, Nike, New Balance, and Timberland will have produced and transported over 272 million pairs of shoes worldwide. It already has factories in Cambodia, Vietnam,  Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Cambodia.

George Liu, vice president of Pou Chen, stated in an online meeting with M.K. Stalin, chief minister of Tamil Nadu, "We hope this would be the first of many investments to come (in India)."

Based on a report from Reuters, the investment will generate roughly 20,000 employees in Tamil Nadu over the course of 12 years and comes almost a year after Taiwanese competitor Hong Fu Group decided to invest Rs 1000 crore in manufacturing shoes in the southern state.

According to a government estimate, Tamil Nadu contributed 45% of India's footwear exports over the previous five years with several brands, including Gucci and Giorgio Armani.

Tamil Nadu has become a popular destination for foreign manufacturers such as Apple suppliers Foxconn, Salcomp, and Pegatron, looking to broaden their presence away from China and Taiwan.

Moreover, according to Reuters in February, which cited two local officials, Pou Chen planned to slash over 6,000 positions at its Ho Chi Minh City plant in Vietnam as a result of low demand.