BoI to shore up African presence

Bank of India (BoI), which has presence in 12 countries, has sought the approval of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to set up three overseas branches, two overseas representative offices and a subsidiary in Africa.

BoI chairman and managing director M Venugopalan, who was in Ahmedabad on Friday, said while the RBI approval has already been sought, others are being processed.

BoI will expand its presence at Antwerp in Belgium, Tanzania, Shenzhen and Beijing in China, Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam and Doha in the Middle East, Venugopalan added.

He stated that while branches will be set up at Antwerp, Shenzhen and Ho Chi Minh, representative offices will be set up at Beijing and Doha. Also, a subsidiary will be set up at Tanzania, he said.

"There was a time when BoI was the leader in the country for facilitating diamond trade. By opening up a branch in Antwerp, we aim to regain this position," said Venugopalan.

Stating that Rs 550 crore has been paid to a consortium of Hewlett Packard and Infosys Technologies to provide the technology upgradation inputs for 10 years, Venugopalan was optimistic that BoI will be one of the best banks to deal with by 2006.

In addition, Boston Consultancy is working on the restructuring aspects for the bank.

On consolidation in the banking sector and on the moves within BoI, Venugopalan said: "The government is yet to come up with a proposal in this regard" and so there is no movement on that front. However, I expect some developments in this regard, once the government comes up with guidelines regarding consolidation in the banking industry."