CM Pinarayi Vijayan rings bell at LSE, attends listing event of masala bonds

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Pinarayi Vijayan became the first chief minister from the country to ring the customary bell to open the day's trade at the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on Friday. He was at the LSE to attend the listing ceremony of Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board's (KIIFB) masala bond.
He was accompanied by finance minister Thomas Isaac, chief secretary Tom Jose and KIIFB chief executive K M Abraham.
While addressing the business community at the stock exchange, the chief minister presented Kerala as an investment destination. Bonds worth Rs 2150 crore will be issued at the LSE at an interest rate of 9.723% for a tenure of five years. "Kerala has attracted world-wide attention as a society with its high-level literacy and impressive health indicators while having a comparatively lower level of per capita income. It was made possible through state intervention and public action. Though there were many industries which were established in the past, we realized that we have been lagging as an investment destination," said Vijayan.
The state government has given serious thought to it and has put in place a policy framework which will enable entrepreneurs to do business with ease in the state, the chief minister said, adding that while doing so, the state is conscious of the fact that its environmental sustainability and welfare legislations are not compromised. The government is committed to provide quality infrastructure in the state without citing fiscal constraints as a reason not to have it, he said.
While pointing out the educational skills acquired by the youth of the state, he said: "With a large pool of educated youth, whose skills can be upgraded according to requirements, Kerala can be home to knowledge-based enterprises."
He assured the business community that the state will make governance practices more entrepreneur-friendly. "We have carried out changes in the legal and administrative framework of our state, including an online single window clearance mechanism, elimination of requirement of inspection prior to registration, publishing objective criteria for land allotment to all industrial estates, e-filing of returns and online payment of taxes/duties and publication of inspection procedures," he said.