India Exim Bank looks to resolve Sri Lanka exposure

192
2
India Exim Bank looks to resolve Sri Lanka exposure

Export financing institution India Exim Bank is looking at resolving its 1.3 billion exposure to crisis-ridden Sri Lanka. It does not have any exposure to Ukraine or any direct exposure to Russia. It will launch factoring and other trade finance products to promote exports from this sector and will foray into services to assist MSME exporters with easier risk protection. Harsha Bangari, MD India Exim Bank, said there is an imminent restructuring of Sri Lanka exposure. We will wait for the signal from the government about any restructuring. Exim's exposure through various channels is estimated to be around $1.3 billion. According to senior Exim officials, the terms of the restructuring could be in the form of a deferment of repayment, which makes export financing easy and less risky, as it is soon to be back to factoring a kind comfort letter for exporters. It is in the process of setting up a factoring business. Bangari said that the focus will be on overseas funding. We got approval from the Board. The business will still have to decide whether it will be a bank or a subsidiary or a separate entity, according to Bangari. Exim has also initiated the Trade Assistance Programme TAP to support the MSME sector. Credit enhancement to participating overseas banks in the emerging markets and trade lines in India will be extended to cover payment obligations on identified banks as part of the programme. TAP would help banks in India to draw comfort under the programme of India Exim Bank, wherein it would extend guarantee comfort and extend export finance to relatively unfamiliar banks abroad, amongst many others. TAP will look at 54 economies in Asia, Africa, and Latin-America at its initial stages of operations. Exim reported a 13 per cent growth in loans during 2021 -- 22 and is looking at raising up to 3 billion dollars in foreign currency this year. The 2.3 billion servicing is required this year, according to Bangari. We are looking at raising up to $3 billion in FY 23 with the help of bonds, loans and multilateral agencies.