Sanjiv Bhasin
Challenges and opportunities
At 40% peryear, Rabo India is growing much fasterthan the rest of
the Indian banking sector. This makes it the number one contributor
to Rabobank International (Rl) Asia in most product categories.
Having achieved this success, Managing Director Chief Executive
Officer of Rabo India Finance, Sanjiv Bhasin, aims to increase his
team's contribution even further.
Food and Agribusiness (F&A) and Telecom Media and Internet (TMI)
form the backbone of Rabo India's business. TMI has been
particularly successful generating US$6.4 million in revenue and
representing 64% of Rabobank Asia's business. 'We have been a key
participant in the growth of mobile telephony in India,' explains
Bhasin. 'We have banking relationships with every major player.' Last
year, Rabo India provided a term loan facility of US$157 million to
help Idea Cellular acquire Escotel Mobile
Communications. As a result, Idea
extended its footprint to around 65% of
the potential Indian telecom market and
the acquisition was voted Deal of the Year
by Rabobank General Managers in Asia.
'Besides financing growth in this sector, we
have earned advisory fees from M&A and
syndication as well,' adds Bhasin.
'Significant consolidation is imminent and
we hope to be a key player here as well.'
F&A is proving to be more challenging.
The sector in India is very fragmented, so
Bhasin and his team are focusing on
product segments like sugar and
breweries which offer opportunities with
high-growth clients. 'We have also been
exploring growth opportunities by
developing new structures to address
emerging markets like cotton financing.'
As well as developing business in RI's
traditional core sectors, Rabo India has
built a strong franchise in new sectors
where major shifts in industry structure
offer new opportunities. Two of these are
auto-ancillaries and textiles. Global trade is
opening up in both sectors and India's
strong skills base gives it a competitive
advantage in these markets. 'Rabo India
has developed in-depth knowledge of the
industry issues as well as company
capabilities to present to credit forums at
national, regional and local levels,' says
Bhasin. Other non-core sectors include
pharmaceuticals, in which Rabo India's
franchise extends across the whole of the
Asian region, and renewables and
The Word
