Chettinad Group

Chettinad Group is an Indian business conglomerate headquartered in Chennai. It was founded as the Annaamalai Chettiar Group by Annamalai Chettiar.[2][3][4][5][6]

History

The Chettinad Group was founded in January 1912 by Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar, who was part of the Nagarathar community in Tamil Nadu.[7] In July 1962, the Chettinad Group expanded into the cement sector and launched Chettinad Cement.[8] In December 1984, after the death of M.A.Muthiah Chettiar, leadership passed to his son, M.A.M. Ramaswamy Chettiar, who became the group's head.[9] After the death of Ramaswamy Chettiar, leadership passed to his adopted son M.A.M.R.Muthiah, who became the group's head in 2015.

March 2011, Ennore Port (now Kamarajar Port) entered into a license agreement with Chettinad Group through a special purpose vehicle, Chettinad International Coal Terminal, for a build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme.[10]

From January 2012 to 2013 Chettinad Cement Corporation partnered with its associate company, Chettinad Power Corporation, to fund a thermal power project in Tamil Nadu. Chettinad Cement invested around ₹1,300 crore in equity.[11]

In 2013 Chettinad Group partnered with private firms such as Breeze Enterprises, Mintra, Trans Earth Logistics, and Fossil Logistics, for logistics and coal movement.[10]

In 2020 November JSW Infrastructure acquired Chettinad Group’s port assets.[12]

In August 2015, the Income Tax Department conducted extensive raids on properties linked to the Chettinad Group, reportedly uncovering unaccounted income of over ₹300 crore, which included large caches of cash and jewellery. These raids were part of a larger crackdown on alleged financial irregularities within the group.[13]