Masala bonds listed at LSE

Kerala has bagged yet another unique distinction to the credit of its citizens on Friday.

The State has turned out to be the first sub-sovereign entity in the country to access the international market by listing masala bonds issued through its off-budget mechanism, the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has become the debutant head of state in the country to open trading at the London Stock Exchange for the day.

Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac, KIIFB chief executive K.M. Abraham, and Chief Secretary Tom Jose accompanied Mr. Vijayan at the function held at 8 a.m. (London time) at the stock exchange. KIIFB has raised ₹2,150 crore through masala bonds at a fixed interest rate of 9.723% per annum.

The resources earned through the bonds would be channelised for funding a clutch of infrastructure development projects cleared by the KIIFB director board. KIIFB had decided to garner ₹3,500 crore from the international market in the initial phase. It plans to list the bonds at the Singapore stock exchange too.