Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan rings opening bell at London Stock Exchange as KIIFB lists masala bonds
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan rang the opening bell at the London Stock Exchange (LSE) Friday to mark the listing of masala bonds sold by Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), according to an official statement.
KIIFB, a state government agency, had raised Rs 2,150 crore through its debut masala bond issue. KIIFB plans to raise Rs 5,000 crore through masala bonds to fund large and critical infrastructure projects in Kerala.
Indian Rupee denominated overseas bonds are popularly known as masala bonds.
"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," the KIIFB had said.
The transaction was priced on March 26, 2019 and saw strong participation from a wide spectrum of investors which included asset managers, insurance companies, pension funds, banks as well as private wealth managers, it had said in the statement.
"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 state agency had 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.
Vijayan, who is on a 13-day trip to Europe from May 8, has participated in various programmes, including the United Nations (UN) World Reconstruction Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.
The 2018 Kerala flood, which ravaged the state and claimed 483 lives, was among the major disasters reported globally last year, including the California wildfire and the floods in Japan.
The Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) report prepared by a UN team said Kerala would need Rs 31,000 crore for rebuilding.
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In biggest haul, drugs worth Rs 51 cr seized in Meghalaya, 2 held
Shillong (PTI): The Meghalaya Police seized drugs worth over Rs 51 crore, the biggest haul of narcotics in the state so far, in East Jaintia Hills district and arrested two Mizoram-based persons in this connection, a senior officer said on Saturday.
The seizure was made during a coordinated naka-checking conducted by the police and Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) personnel in the Ratacherra area on Friday, he said.
During the operation, a vehicle with three persons, including the driver, on board was intercepted and searched in accordance with due legal procedures.
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Upon checking, 19 plastic soap cases, containing suspected heroin weighing 203.7 grams, were recovered from the possession of one of the three persons, the officer said.
The search of the vehicle led to the recovery of a blue-coloured trolley bag belonging to another occupant of the vehicle.
Suspected crystal meth (methamphetamine) tablets weighing 10.145 kilograms were found in the bag, the police officer said.
'Meth' tablets are banned in India.
Two of the three occupants of the vehicle were arrested, and a preliminary investigation suggested that they are part of an interstate and cross-border drug trafficking syndicate, the officer said.
"The total value of the seized contraband is estimated to be around Rs 51.13 crore", ANTF chief Vikash Kumar told PTI.
The arrested persons hail from Mizoram, he said.
A case has been registered at the ANTF police station, and an investigation is underway to establish the forward and backward linkages related to the seizure, the officer added.
