KOCHI: Kochi will play host to a Gulf investors' meet in the first week of March, organised jointly by the Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kochi) and Indigo Ocean, a Korean firm engaged in infrastructure and property development.

Talking to mediapersons here on Monday, president of the chamber John K. Paul said that participants would be able to meet "serious" investors from West Asia and South Korea at the meet.

"It will be an opportunity to provide all kinds of support for major project developers, builders and other special kind of project investors from the two places. Representatives of Indigo Ocean will work closely with the chamber, business allies in Kochi and West Asia to ensure that participants get to establish a strong relationship with the investors."

The meet will be an investors' conference where investors, real estate developers, Government agencies, major customers and project consultancies will meet on neutral ground.

It will provide an opportunity for investors to meet high-quality professionals from the real estate industry, network and establish relationships. The Koreans are also interested in planning townships. In fact, we are organising the meet for Indigo in Kochi, he said.

The event has been modelled like a B2B meet. Indigo and the chamber jointly offer investors an ideal opportunity to meet contacts, project developers and Government agencies like the KSIDC, KINFRA, KTDC and the Cochin Port Trust.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on how to conduct the meet was signed on Monday by Mr. Paul and chairman of Indigo Jai Bon Kim. Indigo's CEO Tai Young Song too was present.

Mr. Kim said that South Korea had got the experience in overcoming economic hardships. "Korean companies like LG, Samsung and Hyundai have made their mark in India. On its part, Kerala has rich natural resources and an educated workforce. There is also diversity of religion and culture. All these attracted us here," he said.

Mr. Paul said that there had been extraordinary growth in works related to infrastructure and property development in the State, particularly in Kochi. This had led to speculation in the real estate market. A host of builders from across the country had set up their offices in Kerala to grab this opportunity. "We felt that an agency like the chamber should step in to give proper guidance on existing opportunities and give advise on tapping them. The meet has been arranged to project the emerging opportunities in infrastructure and property development," he said.

The subjects for discussion at the meet will be trends in the construction sector, IT parks, real estate finance and foreign direct investment in the real estate sector.

Participating investors will have the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the requirements of the market, meet pre-qualified business contacts (including potential project developers), co-ordinate with Government agencies, assess the suitability of projects with experts and to network with local business contacts, industry and Kerala Government agencies.

Among the major opportunities at the meet are real estate development, building and construction, IT sector, health sector, education, seafood, agro-food and beverage, industrial, infrastructure, tourism, ayurveda and port-related projects.

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