NOVEMBER 20268TOP STORIESKia India plans a major USD 2 billion investment to expand its manufacturing presence in Andhra Pradesh, signaling strong confidence in India's growing automotive market and long-term production needs. The South Korean automaker intends to establish an additional manufacturing facility that will raise its annual production capacity to 6.3 lakh units from the current 4.3 lakh units at its existing Anantapur plant. This move strengthens manufacturing scale, supports rising domestic demand, and positions the company for further growth while reinforcing Andhra Pradesh's role in India's auto sector.Kia India CEO Gwanggu Lee announced the plans at the CII Partnership Summit, underscoring the company's commitment to deeper roots in the country. Kia India will invest approximately USD 2 billion to set up a new manufacturing plant in Andhra Pradesh and lift overall annual capacity to 6.3 lakh vehicles. The existing Anantapur facility, which began operations after its 2017 establishment, currently handles 4.3 lakh units a year. The expansion therefore adds roughly 2 lakh units of capacity and gives the company greater flexibility to meet both local and export requirements. Telecom equipment maker HFCL has secured export orders worth Rs 834.36 crore for optical fiber cables. The orders are valued at approximately USD 88.94 million. The company will supply the products to an international customer through its overseas wholly owned subsidiary. The orders are scheduled for completion by June 2027. However, HFCL has not disclosed the customer's identity. In a regulatory filing, the company said the orders reflect customer confidence in its manufacturing capabilities, technological expertise and product quality.The latest order comes amid strong growth in HFCL's financial performance. The company reported a multi-fold increase in consolidated net profit for the second quarter of FY27. Its consolidated profit rose to Rs 394.22 crore in the quarter ended September 30, 2026, compared with Rs 72 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. The growth was supported by rising demand for optical fiber cables from AI data centers. HFCL's consolidated revenue from operations also more than doubled during the quarter. It increased to Rs 2,541.79 crore in Q2 FY27 from Rs 1,043.34 crore in Q2 FY26.Gujarat-based renewable energy company KP Group plans to invest over Rs 5,000 crore in battery cell manufacturing. The company is targeting a manufacturing capacity of 10 gigawatt-hours (GWh). It expects the first phase to become operational by March 2028. Affan Faruk Patel, Whole-Time Director of KPI Green Energy, a KP Group subsidiary, shared the plans in an interview. He said the company is entering the segment as battery energy storage systems (BESS) gain importance.KP Group expects to launch the facility within the next 1­1.5 years. It is also working with three consultants to explore government incentives. Patel said these incentives will be important for the project's financial viability and targeted internal rate of return (IRR). Beyond India, KP Group is looking to expand its battery storage development business in international markets. It has a 5 GWh project pipeline in Botswana and plans to explore similar opportunities in Europe after 2030. The company is also targeting markets across Africa and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. The pumped storage project announced by ReNew is part of a broader Rs 29,500 crore investment commitment aimed at expanding Andhra Pradesh's clean-energy infrastructure and industrial ecosystem. The company has proposed a 2 GW pumped storage facility worth Rs 12,500 crore and a green ammonia and e-fuel project involving Rs 17,000 crore. The announcement followed a meeting between Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh and ReNew Chairman and CEO Sumant Sinha at the CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam.Lokesh said the state would support projects across the clean-energy value chain with speed and support. The new pumped storage project adds an energy storage component to ReNew's expanding renewable energy portfolio in Andhra Pradesh. ReNew currently operates 717 MW of wind and 60 MW of solar capacity across 10 sites in the state. Its Rs 22,000 crore hybrid renewable energy project at Guntakal combines 1.8 GW of solar capacity, 1 GW of wind capacity and 2 GWh of battery storage. KIA INDIA TO INVEST 2 BILLION IN ANDHRA PRADESH PLANTHFCL WINS RS 834 CRORE ORDER, BOOSTS OPTICAL FIBRE CABLE EXPORTSKP GROUP BETS RS 5,000 CRORE ON 10 GWH BATTERY CELL MANUFACTURINGRENEW'S PUMPED STORAGE PROJECT: ANDHRA'S CLEAN ENERGY PUSH
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