Mumbai: In a bid to boost exports as well as industrialisation in some of the states striving for investments, the Centre has asked the Export Import (Exim) Bank of India to engage with state governments to get companies or businesses that are already successful at the local level to go global. The government also plans to utilise the access created to Bangladesh and Myanmar through surface transport to promote trade between the northeast and these countries.

Exim Bank Chairman Yaduvendra Mathur said that the institution is currently in talks with northeastern states, West Bengal, Odisha, Rajasthan and the new state of Andhra Pradesh to boost exports. “We are convinced that Indian exports are competitive and we have to only get our Indian exporters to be a little more innovative and look at global markets. We are very keen to work with state-level companies. We are telling them not to just look at the national market but build global linkages,” said Mathur.

The country’s premier export finance institution is also looking at floating a bond issue in Chinese currency. “We had preliminary discussions with the chairman of China Development Bank. Although they are a counterpart and not the regulator, we are trying to learn from them the legal requirements. For instance, they have requirement of balance sheet being recast according to Chinese rules. But it not clear whether we will be allowed to swap it into another currency,” said Mathur.

In the northeast, the export credit institution — along with state governments and UNDP — is in the process of obtaining approvals to launch a cluster development programme and skill training for exports. “We are helping the states in their policies so that they have a competitive edge. For instance, Andhra Pradesh is looking at a port-led development. So the state is putting its industries near the port to export or to use port logistics to cut transport costs,” said Mathur.

Source: Times of India