ICICI to fund clusters in SEZs

In a bid to explore new horizons in lending, ICICI Bank is planning to fund specific SME clusters in the upcoming special economic zones (SEZ) of the country.

"Many multi-product SEZs are coming up which will house specific Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) clusters. We will now focus on funding those enterprise clusters," said Sanjeev Mantri, head-cluster banking group, ICICI Bank.

Mantri was speaking on the sidelines of SME Expo - Logistics 2006 organised by ICICI Bank and FICCI.

The bank will target high growth clusters such as automobile, gems & jewellery, logistics, pharmaceutical, chemical, electrical and textiles in the proposed SEZs.

"The funding will be streamlined and expedited with the help of credit ratings agencies. Rating agencies such as the SME Rating Agency (SMERA) will be involved, for speedy disbursal of credit in these SEZs," Mantri said.

According to credit rating agency, Crisil, SMEs can leverage their rating for negotiating better borrowing rates and strengthening their relationship with bankers.

Mantri said the bank is adopting superior credit assessment measures for logistics-based SMEs.

"ICICI Bank has identified logistics as fastest growing area in next four to five years. Bank will scale up the financing modules in which it will help logistics companies to adapt with next generation technologies," he said.