Citi plans 'substantial' capital infusion in India by March

With a view to strengthen its foothold in the domestic market, the US-banking major Citibank is mulling the infusion of a “substantial amount” of capital in its Indian banking operations by next month, a top bank official said.

“We plan to infuse a ‘substantial amount’ of capital in our Indian operations by March. This will equip us in a better way to go ahead with our business expansion here,” the official, on condition of anonymity, said here.

Though the official declined to divulge the specifics of the investment plan, market sources said that the fresh capital infusion could be above Rs 750 crore and could even go upto Rs 1,000 crore.

So far, Citigroup has infused $3.1 billion (Rs 14,290 crore) in India and is the single largest foreign direct investor in the country’s financial services industry, according to the information on its website.

Out of the total investment in India, the banking arm of Citi has so far received around $2.4 billion (Rs 11,063 crore), the official said.

The proposed additional capital infusion will equip the US-banking major to face the competition emanating from its deep-pocketed global opponents like StanChart and HSBC as well as from domestic players, to grab a larger share of the emerging market.