India to play important role in BNP Paribas expansion plan

Kochi, Mar 14 (UNI) French banking major BNP Paribas, which has acquired a 34.45 per cent stake in the Indian asset management company Geojit, says India stands tall among the emerging markets and will play an important role in the group's expansion strategy.

Addressing a press conference here last night, BNP Paribas Personal Investors head Olivier Le Grand said the French bank's acquistion of the controlling stake in Geojit was an important step for it to get a foothold in the Indian retail financial services sector.

''India has a major position among the emerging markets. The market capitalisation has more than doubled in the past three years.

At the same time, the capital markets are supported by rigorous corporate governance rules. We see India as a meaningful market for our strategy,'' Mr Le Grand said.

BNP Paribas, which has negligible presence in the retail market, would benefit by Geojit's experience and expertise in the area.

''The tie-up is the start of a long-term, ambitious and strong relationship with India,'' Mr Le Grand said.

BNP Paribas operates in more than 85 countries with a Euro 27.9 billion revenue for 2006. It is the 17th largest company in the world.

Observing that there was immense scope for the capital market to grow in India, Mr Le Grand pointed out that only five per cent of the Indian household savings were invested in the stock market and mutual funds as compared to 50 per cent in bank deposits.

Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Ltd., the new entity which has emerged after the tie-up, would go in for a major expansion of the branch network, especially in North India.

The company planned to increase the number of branches to 1,000 by 2010 from the present 400.

The company would also be making an open offer of 20 per cent of Geojit capital in the next few days after receiving the regulatory clearances.

Non-Resident Indian investments was another key area the company was planning to tap, especially in the Middle-East and the US.

''There are 24 million NRIs worldwide and unlike before, they are now quite keen to invest in the country,'' Geojit BNP Paribas Managing Director C J George said.

It was also going to get into the institutional brokerage business for foreign and domestic financial institutions and expand its margin trading activities.

UNI