Japanese automaker Nissan Motor sues India with $770 million

Japan Dec 03: Japanese automaker Nissan Motor has begun international arbitration against India to seek more than $770 million in a dispute over unpaid state incentives

In a legal notice sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, Nissan sought payment of incentives due from the Tamil Nadu government as part of a 2008 agreement to set up a car manufacturing plant in the southern state.

According to the notice, Nissan said repeated requests to state officials for the payment, due in 2015, were overlooked and even a plea by the company's chairman, Carlos Ghosn, to Modi in March of last year seeking federal assistance did not yield any results.

A senior Tamil Nadu state official said the government hoped to resolve the dispute without having to go to international arbitration. "There is no discrepancy with regard to the amount due, and we are trying hard to resolve the issue,".