Investment seeking Kerala can draw parallels with Singapore

Shri. Abraham Chacko, Executive Director, Federal Bank, speaking at the the Emerging Kerala roadshow in Bengaluru :
I represent Kerala in the sense that I work for a very old private sector Kerala bank – the Federal Bank. But I left Kerala when I was four years old. Five decades ago, Kerala had no industry; the only jobs were in government and agriculture. Most Malayalees went to Bombay, Delhi, Hyderabad, because Kerala had nothing much to offer. That point has changed.
Last year, when Federal Bank called and asked if I would consider being the director for their business side, I said it sounds challenging and interesting. But I also thought I would spend most of my time dealing with associations and unions. I was in Singapore for 10 years before that. Today, I complete 13 months in the bank and I can tell you it’s been a sea change from what I thought it was. Kerala does work…not just in private sector but also in Government.
In terms of investment opportunity, I want to use the analogy of Singapore for Kerala.We are a small state, but small does not necessarily have anything to do with growth. Kerala is one of the smallest states in the country and Singapore is one of the smallest countries in the world. Kerala has about 39,000 sq km of space.Singapore has hardly 1,000 sq km.Kerala is the least corrupt state in the country. Singapore is the one of least corrupt states in the world. Kerala is a green state; Singapore is a garden city. We have the highest literacy in the country, around 94%; Singapore has very high literacy. We have 33-odd million people; Singapore has only 5.5 million people.Singapore is an education hub; Kerala is becoming an education hub. Medical services in Singapore are great, so it is in Kerala and growing.Tourism is fantastic in Kerala, as in Singapore. Singapore has double-digit [million] tourist figures a year. Kerala gets seven million foreign tourists, but a large number of domestic tourists also. Singapore is the airline hub of the world; they have four terminals at Changi. We have three airports and a fourth and fifth coming up. They have similar select industries too. They have refineries, so do we. They have shipping, so do we. They have electronics, so does Kerala. The only thing that they have and we don’t is arms, and that we can skip.
When we compare a small state and a small country, we can draw parallels in growth aspirations. Kerala has everything Singapore has and much more, by way of more land and more educated people.But Kerala’s GDP is in the range of 65-70 billion dollars and Singapore’s is 270 billion dollars. So we know this is where Kerala can reach.