• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Our Bureau

Chennai , Nov. 15

THE World Bank is exploring the possibility of moving some of its complex and sophisticated functions, including monthly valuation of bonds and derivatives, to its Chennai back-office centre from its headquarters in Washington, DC.

The Bank's Vice-President and Controller, Mr Fayezul Choudhury, told newspersons here on Saturday, "It is just an idea and a change in mindset in the bank from can they (in India) do that to how can they do. A small group of MBAs and financial analysts would be required to do the complex work in Chennai." The Bank's derivatives portfolio would be about $100 billion, he said.

According to Mr Choudhury, at the Bank's headquarters, two groups work separately on treasury operations and independent checks and balances. "The team in Chennai could do checks and balances," he said.

On moving to its own premises in the city, Mr Choudhury said a decision is likely to be taken before the current fiscal year. The bank requires about 60,000 sq ft of land and would finish construction in 9-15 months. The Bank's existing centre in the city employees 180 staff, up from 80 in 2001, he said.

The Chennai centre has "moved up the value chain" in the last two years from doing just basic back-end processing to complex analysis.

Earlier, speaking at the seventh national e-governance conference here, Mr Choudhury said the Bank is yet to make a major presence in e-governance. "We need to learn a lot from India and try to replicate in other developing countries," he said.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication

Stories in this Section
Forex reserves rise $ 613 m

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line