Reportedly, the Chinese bank is seeking necessary approvals for the Mumbai branch from the Reserve Bank of India. This follows the recent permission obtained by the State Bank of India’s (SBI) Shanghai branch to lend in local Renminbi currency.
The Indian companies could gain credit access to about $200m from SBI without depending on the domestic banks. Currently, 12 banks originating from India are conducting their operations in China with different levels of licences.
Speaking at the India-China Development Forum, MV Rabade, CEO China, said that with trade worth billions of dollars going on between the two nations, it is necessary that they open their banks in each others’ countries.
He added that it would be better for Reserve Bank of India and People’s Bank of China to establish banks in each others’ countries to avoid trilateral involvement.
