Kerala Industries Minister Rajeev holds investment talks with 42 medical device firms in Kochi

Kochi, Jan 24 (PTI) Kerala Industries Minister P Rajeev on Saturday said talks with 42 medical device industrialists were held here after his return from the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, with the aim of attracting investments to the state.

He was speaking to reporters here after returning from the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, where the Kerala government signed Letters of Intent (LoIs) for investments worth Rs 1.18 lakh crore with various foreign companies.

Rajeev said that after returning from Davos early in the morning, he held a meeting with 42 medical device industrialists in Kochi, of which 22 were from foreign companies.

“Earlier, when Kerala went to the world, this time, the world is coming to Kerala,” Minister said.

He said several companies had taken a positive stand on establishing their production lines in Kerala.

“After approval from their respective boards, we expect to move towards signing MoUs,” he said.

Rajeev said that currently 24 per cent of the turnover of the medical device industry in the country comes from Kerala and that several prominent international companies already have facilities in the state.

He said the CSIR-NIST Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre was established after the state government allotted 10 acres of land free of cost from its Life Science Park.

Several innovation and testing centres are coming up there, which will further boost the medical device sector, he added.

The minister said at this year’s WEF meeting, Kerala signed LoIs instead of directly entering into MoUs.

He said ANSR, a major Global Capability Centre (GCC) provider with over 500 Fortune companies under it, would be brought to the state.

Two GCC cities would be developed in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi, with Kozhikode to be included at a later stage, he said, adding that LoIs were signed for two projects in this sector.

“GCC is one of the key sectors we are focusing on, and we expect these LoIs to help in that direction,” he said.

Rajeev said LoIs signed at Davos were worth about 14 billion US dollars, equivalent to Rs 1.18 lakh crore.

Referring to MoUs signed during the Invest Kerala Global Summit, he said around 25 per cent of those projects were already in the construction stage.

“The LoIs will be categorised. Steps will be taken to move with proposals that can be implemented quickly. A cabinet-level review of Invest Kerala Global Summit projects is held every Friday, and the Additional Chief Secretary is carrying out daily follow-ups,” he said.

He said LoIs were signed with companies from the US, UK, Germany, Spain and South Africa.

Rajeev said Kerala’s Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) policy, which he said was unique in the country, helped attract interest from European nations.

He added that the state’s declaration to become carbon neutral by 2050 and initiatives such as floating solar projects also gave Kerala an advantage.

He said that apart from the Indian pavilion, Kerala had taken an additional pavilion at the WEF, organised a “Kerala Evening” event and held a breakfast meeting of CEOs in Davos.

He said Haynes International, a company operating in the space sector, had signed an LoI worth Rs 2,500 crore.

Rajeev also said the Confederation of Indian Industry attended the WEF and played a role in providing perspective to investors, and he thanked the organisation for its support. PTI TBA TBA ROH