The Hindu Business Line : Foreign bank buying Exim Bank, IFC stake in Global Trade Fin

Global Trade Finance, promoted by Exim Bank in 2001, is a non-deposit-taking NBFC, which provides factoring services mainly to small and medium enterprises. Exim Bank today has a 40 per cent stake in the company and IFC, 12.5 per cent.

While confirming this to Business Line, the Chairman and Managing Director of Exim Bank of India, Mr T.C. Venkat Subramanian, declined to name the prospective buyer as the process of `due diligence' is going on.

Two other institutions have stakes in Global Trade Finance — First International Merchant Bank, Malta (38.5 per cent) and Bank of Maharashtra (9 per cent).

Balance sheet

Last year, Global Trade Finance made a net profit of Rs 43.3 crore compared with Rs 20.3 crore in the previous year. The company's gross lendings (quantum of loans disbursed during the year) was Rs 6,213.8 crore, up 121 per cent over the previous year's achievement of Rs 2,805.7 crore.

As at end-March 2007, the company had loan assets of Rs 1,749.6 crore, compared with Rs 799 crore a year ago. NPAs were close to zero. Global Trade Finance is today the biggest factoring company in India.

This is the second time the shareholding pattern of Global Trade Finance is undergoing a change.

The company was initially a joint venture of Exim Bank, West LB of Germany and IFC, Washington. In December 2004, West LB exited the company and IFC pared its stake to half and First International Merchant Bank and Bank of Maharashtra came in.

Asked why Exim Bank was selling out, Mr Venkat Subramanian said that the bank preferred to promote and grow a company and then get out of it.