Sbi 24-Hr Cell To Answer Gdr Queries

The State Bank of India (SBI) has formed a 'base camp' that will work 24 hours and handle all queries of international investors as long as its $400 million global depository receipts issue is on.

The base camp was set up on a war-footing as a shield against the query bombardment of investors," said a SBI official.

Casting away its eight-hour work schedule, the public sector bank's officials have kept the base camp open day and night so as to be able to cater to investors from the different time zones across the globe.

The setting up of a base camp is a consequence of an office order and will begin functioning today. The camp will be dismantled on October 3, 1996, when the bank prices its GDR issue.

 

SBI will have three shifts in the camp "" one from 10 pm to 6 am to facilitate the American investors; from 6 am to 2 pm which will be the general shift; and, from 2 pm to 10 pm for the London investors.

This is to supply up to the minute information to the investor," said a bank official.

The camp will be co-ordinated by two deputy general managers and one assistant general manager.

There will also be various departments represented in the base camp. These include the banking operations, the economic research department, domestic treasury and accounts & compliance.

The SBI official adds: Well it is not only the investors who want information, even the senior officials come for specific details on the bank's functioning." The queries will of course be why SBI is charging a premium on its GDR over the prevailing market price. SBI is proposing a 10 per cent premium on the prevailing domestic price.

The SBI roadshow was kicked off in Mumbai last week after which the bank's top officials fanned out to various parts of the globe to sell its issue. But this is the first time that the public sector bank will have a base camp providing the information as and when required.

Prior to this, the public sector bank's officials had fanned out to sell the bank's bond and equity issues in India. But Indians do not ask as many queries as the investors in the western market do, thereby obviating the need for such base camps.