Fitch India Shifts Hq To Mumbai

Fitch Ratings India has shifted its headquarters to Mumbai from Kolkata, informed Amit Tandon managing director of the company. Tandon said : "It makes sense to do business based on the country's financial capital. The big corporates are here, our competitors are here and most importantly the major chunk of investors are also based in Mumbai." Fitch has presence in all the four metros of the country.

The rating agency, which has been operating in India for more than four years now, is increasing its staff as well. It is putting in place a separate team for rating 'structured finance obligation'.

Tandon said: "Globally Fitch, as a rating agency grew out of structured product. In India, we have not rated many structured obligation. But the prime reason for that is the concept of 'structure finance' itself is very new in the country." Tandon mentioned that in the US, Fitch has 100 per cent market share as far as the structured finance rating is concerned. Fitch, which globally has a intrinsic system for rating the asset management company, is looking to modifying it to suit the Indian context.

In the first week of November 2001, Fitch International had picked up the 67 per cent stake of the Indian promoters in Fitch Ratings India and converted it to a fully owned subsidiary of the US giant. This is the first 100 per cent subsidiary of an international rating agency.