Abn Amro In Plan To Step Up Growth In India

Dutch banking giant ABN Amro Bank NV is giving final touches to its ambitious India plans. "We are looking at all options to accelerate our growth in India," member of the managing board of Wilco Jiskoot, ABN Amro Bank NV, said.

In the bank's scheme of things, India is looking more attractive than China. "Both India and China have the potential, but India looks more interesting and we can do many more things here. The Chinese potential will open up in another five years. There are many Indian companies who are active in cross-border transactions compared with Chinese companies, which are more focussed on China. Also, regulations are difficult in China. We will put more efforts in the Indian operations," Jiskoot said.

 

ABN Amro had identified the retail market in India as a very high growth potential area. "We have to be in the top five for a sustainable proposition in retail (business). The retail banking is a high growth area. As of today, we concentrate on three markets - the Netherlands, the US and Brazil. India could be the potential fourth market," said Jiskoot.

He refused to spell out the exact quantum of investment the Dutch bank is planning to make in India. But he was categorical that heavy investment is on the cards. "If we have to increase our business in the country, we will have to put in more capital. It is not going to be $10-20 million. If we get an opportunity for acquisition, capital will not be a problem. We have a capital of $15 billion and can afford a decent investment opportunity from that," he said.

The bank may explore the possibility of swap operations with other foreign banks to increase its India presence. "We may have some activities in other Asian countries which can be swapped with another large bank for the Indian operations," he said.

If the bank were to make an acquisition in the US, it would need $3-4 billion. In Brazil -- another important market for ABN Amro-- the requirement would be in excess of $1 billion. "In contrast, it would take only a couple of hundreds of million dollars in India. It would be much easier to take the decision (on investing in India) as once you spend $3-4 billion you cannot do lot of other things," Jiskoot said.

ABN Amro had acquired Bank of America's retail banking business in India, Taiwan and Singapore in a $200 million deal.