Mumbai:
Canada's Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank), which recently
opened its new Chinese commercial branch in Shanghai,
is planning a big push into India to secure a larger share
of business in world's second fastest growing economy.
The bank, which had a marginal presence in India for more
than two decades, expects to expand its presence in India's
banking sector with new branches.
Rob Pitfield, executive vice-president, says the bank
is seeking to establish a strong relationship with regulators,
which could open the door to future expansion opportunities.
He said the bank has currently five branches in India
serving retail and commercial customers and is looking
at growth through acquisitions that could include banks
or financial service companies.
"India
and China are two fantastic countries that we are very
interested in, so we are continually working with the
government to see what they would be willing to permit
us to do," Pitfield said.
He
said the bank is working with regulators in India and
China to expand operations in these countries. "They
decide how they want to see their financial services industry
expand, and we think it's natural that when you decide
to expand you do it with proven entities that have stood
the test of time and that you trust," Pitfield said.
Major
Canadian banks like Bank of Montreal, Royal Bank of Canada
and Toronto-Dominion Bank have been heading to the United
States to fulfill their global aspirations.
Scotiabank has taken an alternative route, pushing into
emerging markets such as Latin America, China and India.
With the addition of the Shanghai branch, the bank will
have six branches in China. First establishing in India
and China during the early 1980s, Scotiabank has been
setting up a new operation once every few years.
Driven
by strong revenue growth and higher asset volumes across
three business lines, due in part to several recent strategic
acquisitions, Scotiabank reported record earnings in the
third quarter of 2006.
Net income during the quarter rose to $936 million, an
increase of 19 per cent over last year. The quarter reflected
strong growth in sustainable revenue and the bank
expects to post a 12 per cent increase in fourth quarter
profit.
With branches and offices in some 50 countries and 51,000
employees worldwide, Bank of Nova Scotia and its affiliates
provide
a broad range of retail, commercial, corporate, investment
and international banking services to millions of customers
around the globe.
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