Kerala Nets Investment Commitments of Rs 1,17,000 cr at WEF, Davos

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Kerala has netted investment commitments of over Rs 1,17,000 crore (USD 14 bn) at the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, where the state government’s high-level delegation led by Industries Minister P Rajeeve successfully showcased the state’s highly-promising industrial and business ecosystem before global business leaders.

The proposals and Expressions of Interest yielded by the outreach range across sectors such as renewable energy,Global Capability Centres(GCCs), skill development, financial services, tourism & wellness, medical infrastructure and manufacturing.

“In five days, we successfully held discussions and business meetings with many Indian and international company heads,” Rajeeve said.

“As Kerala looks to diversify and scale up across traditional and new-age sectors, we are proud to announce a total investor commitment worth Rs 1,17, 000 cr (USD 14 Billion) from global investors of the US, the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and South Africa among others”, the Minister said.

Kerala made a deep impression at the January 19-23 event where global business and political leaders converged from across continents to deliberate on pressing international issues and explore areas of cooperation.

Kerala Government’s five-member delegation to WEF, led by Industries Minister P Rajeeve, presented the state’s strategic advantages as a highly promising destination before industry leaders, CEO and officials of trade and business promotion agencies from different countries.

This is for the second consecutive year that Kerala was represented by an official delegation at WEF, underscoring the government’s sustained efforts to engage with global economic forums and strengthen international cooperation.

The delegation included Dr. A Jayathilak, Chief Secretary, Government of Kerala, APM Mohammed Hanish, Additional Chief Secretary (Industries & Commerce), and P Vishnuraj, Managing Director, Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC). The delegation was joined by top investors from the state.

The Minister also invited the business leaders to visit Kerala and explore the scope of collaborations.

Significantly, a majority of the investment proposals made by business leaders go well with the state’s emphasis on responsible and sustainable industrial and economic development.

The state’s pavilion at the event, which highlighted the theme “Kerala- India’s Gateway way to Global Investment’, drew a steady stream of visitors, who also appreciated its resonance with the central theme of this edition of WEF— A Spirit of Dialogue,’ which assumes great significance in a global scenario marked by economic headwinds and geopolitical disruptions.

The business leaders and policy-makers, who the minister met and held deliberations, expressed keen interest in partnering with the state’s future-ready industrial landscape, which promised immense scope for investment in various verticals.

During his deliberations, which included one-on-ones, Shri Rajeeve put across the forward-looking policy-frame work set firmly in place by the state government in recent years, transforming Kerala as India’s top-ranked in Ease of Doing Business.

The conversations had been constructive, forward-looking and set in motion a series of partnerships that are expected to materialise in the near future, he said.

On January 21, the delegation held a Kerala Evening at Abraham House, Davos, marked by presentations and panel discussions.

The session offered insight into Kerala’s present capabilities and future vision, with strong emphasis on the state’s accessible public health infrastructure, robust and inclusive SME ecosystem and progressive social framework, which stands out with 37 per cent women in leadership across sectors.

Special focus was placed on emerging growth areas such as green technology, green energy, medical devices manufacturing, positioning Kerala as a preferred destination for sustainable and innovation-driven knowledge-based investments.

Expressions of Interest (EoIs) made by business houses with an investment of Rs. 500 crores and above are Ramky Infrastructure Ltd. (Ecotown development &2000 acres of integrated Industrial parks), Resustainability Ltd. (Solid waste management), Baidyanath Biofuels Pvt.Ltd (Renewable Energy), DPIFS Solution Pvt. Ltd. (AI Traffic systems), ACME group (Battery Storage System), LNK Energy (Renewable energy), Sify Technologies (Data Center Sector), Delta Energy Solution GmbH & Co.KG (Energy Hospitality & Healthcare), Eco Guard Global AG (ESG aligned Financial Services), Greenko Group (Energy Sector), Genesis Infrastructure (Energy Infrastructure), Inoxwind Limited (Wind Power), Caneys International, Canada (Spice, Aerospace & Energy) and Saye N vest Caps Advisory Limited (Renewable Energy).