Thiruvananthapuram: In a way of marking the listing of masala bonds sold by Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan rang the opening bell at the London Stock Exchange (LSE) yesterday.
Masala bonds are Indian Rupee denominated overseas bonds. KIIFB is aĀ state government agency and through its debut masala bond issue, it has raised Rs 2,150 crore. The agency furtherĀ plans to raise Rs 5,000 croreĀ to fund large and important infrastructure projects in Kerala.
The KIIFB issued a statement that this was not only the first-ever offshore capital market issuance from a state-level entity from India, but also the largest dual currency issue by a sub-sovereign backed entity from the entire emerging markets and Asia.
A wide spectrum of investors, including asset managers, insurance companies, pension funds, banks as well as private wealth managers participated in the transaction, which wasĀ priced on 26 March 2019.
“With a view to establishing its credit profile and market standing, KIIFB had undertaken a detailed rating exercise through two international credit rating agencies – Standard and Poor’s and Fitch Ratings,” the agency said in a statement.
The masala bond market till date had seen issuance only from large Indian corporates and public institutions such as National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and NTPC which are all rated AAA in the domestic market.
The chief minister wasĀ on a 13-day trip to Europe and participated in various programmes, including the United Nations (UN) World Reconstruction Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.
2018 Kerala floods was among the major disasters reported globally last year. 483 people lost their lives and the State was ravaged. The UN team prepared the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) report and it said Kerala would need Rs 31,000 crore for rebuilding.