Exim Bank to buy equity stake in Indian overseas ventures

KOCHI, NOV 14: The Export Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) will pick equity stakes in a slew of joint venture projects planned by mid-sized ...

KOCHI, NOV 14: The Export Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) will pick equity stakes in a slew of joint venture projects planned by mid-sized corporates from India, mainly in the United States. This follows the recent decision by the bank to promote the credit-worthiness of Indian companies abroad.

Addressing the 141st annual general meeting of the Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Saturday, Exim Bank managing director YB Desai said the bank was actively considering a number of proposals submitted by medium-sized Indian corporates for setting up joint ventures abroad. "We have received several proposals from mid-sized corporates for taking equity in their proposed ventures abroad. We are in the process of scrutinising these proposals and a decision will be taken soon," Desai said. However, he refused to reveal the name of the companies which have knocked its door for equity help.

He said the bank had put a monetary ceiling of $5 million for taking equity participation in Indian venturesabroad. The bank launched this option as a credibility booster for Indian ventures abroad.

With the name of Exim Bank associated with the companies, Indian ventures could obtain better credit rating and easy finances from multilateral lending agencies and global financial institutions as well as banks, he added.

The bank is also offering a buyback option to the Indian promoter once the venture stabilises. "We will like to exit the venture at the earliest by offering buyback option to promoters," he added.

Referring to the performance of Indian exports during the first six months of the current fiscal, he said a major factor that affected India’s export competitiveness was the high degree of concentration both in terms of product and destination. India’s exports were negligible in 71 of the top 200 items accounting for over 95 per cent of the world trade.