Kerala eyes USD 14 billion investment at WEF 2026; focus on AI, renewable energy

Davos [Switzerland], January 23 (ANI): Kerala Industries Minister P Rajeev on Thursday said that the state proposed to sign EOUs worth over USD 14 billion at the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2026 in Davos, with a strong focus on knowledge-based and future-ready sectors.
Speaking on the sidelines of the annual global meet, Rajeev said Kerala engaged with more than 60 investors and potential investors, marking a shift in strategy from previous editions of the forum.
"We met more than 60 investors, potential investors. Last time we didn't focus on EOUs, LOUs or MOUs. That time we have tried our best to showcase the potential of the State of Kerala. This time we are focusing on EOUs. We could sign more than 14 billion US dollar EOUs proposals," the minister said.
He added that the bulk of the proposals were in sectors such as renewable energy, artificial intelligence, data centres, medical devices, electronics manufacturing, wellness centres, and other knowledge-driven industries.
"Most of them belong to renewable energy and AI, data centre, medical device, electronics industry and also wellness centre, all knowledge-based industries. We are engaging offices for each and every EOUs, and I think we could materialise most of them into reality," Rajeev noted.
Highlighting Kerala's ambition to emerge as a major hub for Global Capability Centres (GCCs), the minister said the state's skilled workforce gives it a competitive edge.
"GCC, the Global Capability Center is one of the emerging sectors, and India is one of the destinations. And Kerala should definitely be the major destination of GCC, because the major requirement is a highly skilled, talented pool. Our strength is highly skilled human resources," he said.
Rajeev further revealed that the state has signed an EOUs to establish two GCC cities in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.
"We have signed one EOUs to establish two GCC cities in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. We are now trying to develop a global city in Kochi, and we have a very good techno park in Thiruvananthapuram," he said.
Calling the proposal significant, the minister added that it comes from one of the world's largest GCC providers and is expected to attract major global companies to set up their operations in Kerala.
"I think most of the big companies will utilise this opportunity to establish their GCC in the state of Kerala," he said.
Minister P Rajeev highlighted the state's competitive advantage for investors, saying that while other states can offer more free land, Kerala provides a readily available talent pool and transparency with no hidden costs.
On the expectation from the MoUs signed at global summits, he added, "Most of them we are trying to materialise. Normally, in India, as per several media reports, the conversion rate for MoUs signed at global summits is 10 to 15%. Within 10 months, we could convert 24% into the construction stage. Within two months, I hope 50% should be converted to the construction stage. Some MoUs are not easy to materialise because that is not suitable for the state of Kerala. But most of them we could convert to the construction and industrial stage. This time also, I hope that most of them, we could not find time to go through the potential of each and every company with which we have signed an EOU here."
He further said, "This is only a beginning. We will go through all the data regarding those companies. One officer is working on that. Thereafter, the next step we will take, it will be signing the MoUs. Thereafter, I think most of the MoUs we could convert to reality." (ANI)