State Bank of Mauritius plans to open six new branches in India under WOS

State Bank of Mauritius (SBM) plans to open six new branches in India after it starts operating under a wholly-owned subsidiary (WOS) later this year. 

The bank, which already has four branches in India, will soon operate as a banking subsidiary of SBM Group in the country under the name of SBM Bank (India) Ltd. The work for regulatory approvals from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for WOS is in its advanced stage. The bank expects to commence operations in September.  

Moses Harding John, CEO, India & East Africa, SBM Holdings said, with Rs 5 billion capital, the four branches would move to the subsidiary. The capital base of Indian operations is adequate to scale-up loan book to Rs 40 billion from the present level of Rs 10 billion. According to WOS rules, the bank is required to list the Indian banking unit on stock exchanges after three years.

To capture a wider market and increase its customer base, SBM plans to launch six new branches in Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Pune, Ahmedabad and Jaipur by next year. Currently, SBM operates four branches, in Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Ramachandrapuram.

The first priority is to stabilise operations of subsidiary and then expand the network to 40-50 branches in the country. But the plans are yet to be finalised, Harding John said. 

The bank will focus on mid-market corporate and retail segment in domestic operations. It would target top Indian companies for cross-border business opportunities.

Besides establishing a domestic franchise in India, SBM expects to capitalise on its geographic network in East Africa and the Indian Ocean region. There is growing interest in trade and investment along the India-Africa corridor, where SBM can play an important role in financing and structuring, Moses Harding John further added.