Kochiruns on a handful of strong industries. If you’re job-hunting or weighing a move, here’s where the opportunities (and the big-name employers) are.
Top industries & employers
Information technology
Infopark, SmartCity Kochi, TCS, Wipro, IBS Software, EY, Cognizant
Infopark at Kakkanad is Kerala's largest IT cluster and IBS Software — a global aviation and travel systems company — was founded and is headquartered here rather than in Bengaluru.
Ports, shipping & shipbuilding
Cochin Port Authority, Vallarpadam ICTT, Cochin Shipyard, DP World
Cochin Shipyard built INS Vikrant, India's first indigenous aircraft carrier, and the Vallarpadam international container transhipment terminal is India's largest single-operator container facility.
Healthcare
Amrita Institute, Aster Medcity, Lakeshore, Rajagiri, Lisie
Kochi has an unusually deep private hospital sector for a city of its size, drawing patients from across Kerala and from the Gulf diaspora returning for treatment.
Retail, trade & the diaspora economy
Lulu Group, Muthoot, Manappuram, Federal Bank, South Indian Bank
Kerala's Gulf connection produced a distinctive corporate layer — Lulu, the Abu Dhabi-headquartered retail group, is Malayali-founded, and Kerala's gold-loan and private banking sector is a national force.
Spices, seafood & agri-export
Spices Board India, Kerala seafood exporters, tea and rubber trade
Kochi has been the centre of the pepper and spice trade for two thousand years and the Spices Board is still headquartered here. Seafood is one of Kerala's largest export categories.
Petrochemicals & industry
BPCL Kochi Refinery, FACT, Cochin Special Economic Zone
The BPCL refinery at Ambalamugal is one of India's largest, and the surrounding petrochemical cluster is the state's biggest single industrial complex.
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