NEW DELHI - India's ICICI
Bank has obtained Reserve Bank of India clearance for a
foray into the UK, Canada, China, Dubai and Singapore,
targeting NRI deposits and trade accounts. The move is
part of the broader strategy to shore up its overseas
business to 15-20 percent of the bank's total business
in five years, ICICI Bank officials said.
ICICI
Bank joint managing director, Lalita D Gupte, told PTI
that the bank has already obtained the RBI's nod for
setting up subsidiaries in the UK and Canada, to open a
branch in Singapore and representative offices in China
and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
"We are
in the process of filing an application with respective
regulators," said Gupte. ICICI Bank, which is listed on
the New York Stock Exchange, already has a
representative office in the US, but intends to expand
its network.
The overseas expansion aims at
roping in significant deposit from Non Resident Indians
(NRIs), while increasing trade related businesses, Gupte
said. "There is lot of opportunity in trade. Also there
is the NRI Diaspora. We have come up with specialized
products for NRIs," she added.
Although ICICI
Bank started its NRI services in January 2002, the last
two months have witnessed a 20 percent jump in NRI
deposits. ICICI Bank's head of international banking
group, B Dasgupta, said the bank has revamped its
remittances system to make it fully online, while
introducing facilities like a "cheque log box" system
whereby hard currencies would get converted into rupee.
