Exim Bank eyes 20% growth on auto revival

Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) hopes to ride on the back of an expected revival in the auto sector and is eyeing a 20 per cent growth in its loan assets in FY10, a top company executive said.

"We are expecting a growth of 20 per cent in our loan assets during 2009-10 on account of the expected revival in the auto sector," Exim Bank's Chairman and Managing Director, T C Venkat Subramanian, told PTI here.

The continued good export performance of engineering and pharmaceutical sectors would also help the bank clock a good performance, he said.

The growth in the bank's loan assets during the next fiscal would be due to improvement in the export prospects of the auto and auto component sectors which are highly-efficent and resilient, he said.

"The Indian auto sector is internationally competant because of its technology, product innovation and product engineering, and so can bounce back quickly," Subramanian said.

The revival of the automotive sector would be due to improvement in the domestic market and expected stability in the international market in a few months, he said.

"The domestic market is growing as interest rates are declining and people are buying vehicles. Once international market conditions stabilise, companies will start outsourcing to India which will help the sector," he said.

The bank, during FY 08-09, is targeting a growth of 15 pc in loan assets at Rs 38,000-crore as compared to 24 per cent in the last fiscal (2007-08) at Rs 32,000-crore loan assets,he said.

"Due to slump in exports and current downturn in the international market which has forced companies to go slow on their expansion plans, and a slowdown in overseas acquisitons by Indian companies, we expect a growth of 15 per cent in our loan assets at Rs 38,000-crore this fiscal," Subramanian said.

Engineering and pharmaceuticals are two sectors where the bank is experiencing growth during this fiscal, he said.

"In engineering, we are seeing a growth of 15 per cent as the country's exports in the sector is also growing at 30-40 per cent. Our pharmaceuticals segment is also doing well with a 15-20 per cent growth rate," he said.

Auto, textile and leather are a few sectors where the bank is witnessing less growth, he said.

The bank, which has nine offices in the country and six internationally, is planning to open a new office in Chandigarh in April, he said.

Exim bank already has two offices in Africa and one each in Europe, the US, Dubai and Singapore.