Indias ICICI Bank has plans to open branches in South Africa, after the Reserve Bank of India granted regulatory approval
According to local reports, the multinational bank wants to convert its representative offices in Sandton Business District, Johannesburg, and China into operational branches.
Chanda Kochhar, CEO of ICICI, said, ”When it comes to the international banking business, our focus is on Indian companies expanding into foreign markets, multinationals from outside coming into India and NRIs (Non Resident Indian).”
Kochhar added that ICICI’s expansion plans would remain India-centric.
According to business daily Business Standard, ICICI Bank’s revenue from foreign operations (including foreign branches and offshore banking units in India) rose to US$986mn in fiscal year 2013-14, from US$784mn in the previous year.
ICICI Bank is India’s second largest bank in terms of assets and market capitalisation, with branches in USA, Singapore, Hong Kong, Bahrain, Sri Lanka, Dubai and Qatar, and representative offices in the UAE, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The bank also has wholly-owned subsidiaries in Canada and the UK.
