IDR listing to enhance StanChart's commitment to India: CEO

Global banking major, Standard Chartered, which is widely expected to list its shares on the bourses here in the first half of next year, said the listing would enhance the lender's commitment to the local market. "The issue of proposed Indian Depository Receipts (IDRs) demonstrates our commitment to India," Standard Chartered, Global CEO, Peter Sands said.

The banking major, which has received the Reserve Bank approval for the IDR issue, is understood to be in a dialogue with the Securities and Exchange board of India to go ahead with the proposal. The banking behemoth, in its interim management statement last month, said it was actively considering plans to hit the Indian stock market and was working with the regulators on the same.

Sands said the Reserve Bank of India has been "very thoughtful" in navigating the domestic financial system during the global financial crisis. "India has shown remarkable resilience during the global facial crisis and so did Canada, despite being closely linked to the US market," he said.

India is a key market for StanChart and is the second largest contributor to the bank's profits after Hong Kong. The bank is optimistic about expanding operations in the local market, Sands said. Replying to queries about acquisition of smaller banks in India, Sands said, "acquisitions will not be only for acquisition's sake. We will look at it keeping in mind the impact it can have in India." "Given the situation in which we cannot control such banks (by acquiring a minority stake), why should we go for acquisition. By controlling them we would be able to make value addition," he said.

Asked whether China's economic growth was the result of capacity building or was it demand-driven, Sands said it could be attributed to rapid urbanisation and economic expansion. He, however, felt that the economies in Asia needed to focus more on strengthening domestic consumption to make the development process sustainable rather than only thinking in terms of exporting their products to the US.

"This is a challenge to China, India and most Asian economies," Sands said. Last week, StanChart India had said that it would acquire 3,000 employees in India by the end of 2010, out of which 500 recruitments will be done in the last two months of 2009.