Export Import Bank of India (EXIM) would soon urge the Modi-led Government to allow it to go in for more leverage, its Chairman and Managing Director, Yaduvendra Mathur has said.

Currently, EXIM can borrow only ten times the size of its net owned funds.

This seemingly low leverage limit puts it at a competitive disadvantage in pushing Indian exports, given that the Chinese Exim gets to leverage 70 times and Korean Exim can go upto 30 times their capital, according to Mathur.

" We will request the Government to allow us leverage of 15 times", Mathur told Business Line on the sidelines of an EXIM award event in the capital.

The occasion where such a demand will be placed is a meeting that has been convened by the Prime Minister's office to look at measures to strengthen the balance sheet of EXIM.

"The PMO has convened a meeting and this will be one of our requests. There is no merit in RBI treating us like commercial banks", Mathur said, adding that more leverage should be allowed to help EXIM expand its operations.

EXIM is expecting the Government to infuse another Rs 650 crore capital this fiscal, taking the total capital to about Rs 5,000 crore by end March.

On project exports, Mathur felt the overall pie of project exports from the country will increase if the Government were to allow interest subvention for such exports.

"The new Government is yet to take a policy decision on this issue. There is a pipeline of $ 7 billion worth project export contracts waiting to be awarded", he said adding that such exports could get a boost from any interest subvention.

srivats.kr@thehindu.co.in

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