Tata to get up to $500 million a year in Canadian financing

Tata companies had invested more than C$1.3 billion in Canadian operations over the last five years

Canada will provide up to $500 million a year in trade financing to help Tata Sons Ltd invest in Canada and also to aid Canadian firms doing business with the company abroad, Ottawa said on Wednesday.

The trade financing agency Export Development Canada (EDC) said Tata companies had invested more than C$1.3 billion ($990 million) in Canadian operations over the last five years. Tata employs around 3,000 people in Canada.

"The Tata group is a critical organisation within a key market for Canada - India - and the financing is a reflection of Tata's importance to Canadian exporters," EDC chief executive Benoit Daignault said in a statement.

An EDC spokesman said the agency would decide on a yearly basis whether to renew the financing facility.

The Tata family includes Tata Communications Ltd, Tata Chemicals Ltd, Tata Steel Ltd, Tata Global beverages Ltd, Tata Power Company Ltd and Indian Hotels Company Ltd.