More Japanese Regional Banks Sending Personnel to India

New Delhi, Sept. 9 (Jiji Press)–Japanese regional lenders are increasingly dispatching staff to India to support clients from Japan, with nine banks having already taken such steps and at least seven more planning to follow suit. Those banks aim to support their clients advancing from their local regions by collecting economic information in fast-growing India. AKM Global, an accounting firm near the Indian capital of New Delhi, recently accepted dispatched employees from three Japanese regional banks in succession. The first was Kentaro Kojima from Bank of Kyoto, who arrived in India in May last year. He provides advice to Japanese clients and searches for business partners for them. According to Kojima, about 20 pct of around 70 listed companies in the western Japan prefecture of Kyoto have already expanded into India. Many of the rest are also considering entering the market, with unlisted small and midsize companies expected to follow suit. Recently, Kojima received inquiries about the Indian market from various industries, including the semiconductor-manufacturing equipment sector. Against this backdrop, Bank of Kyoto plans to establish a representative office in India next year or later, becoming the first Japanese regional bank to have such an office in the country. “We’ll provide high value-added support to our business partners,” Kojima said, pledging full commitment. From Hachijuni Nagano Bank, based in the central Japan city of Nagano, Masanori Tendo joined AKM in June last year. He said he was dispatched to play his role as a “weapon to strengthen relationships with business partners.” Tendo cannot conduct loan business in India because his bank has no local corporation, but he expressed a wish to “support clients from the outset” when they eventually enter the market. Financing projects abroad are easily taken away by Japanese megabank groups, so his bank operates in India as a “defense measure” to prevent possible customer losses, he said, stressing the need to keep in close touch with clients. “Moves to enter the market were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Yuma Uematsu, on loan from Shiga Bank to a Japanese consulting company in Bengaluru, southern India. About 20 companies linked to Shiga Prefecture, western Japan, have advanced into India. Relevant seminars hosted by the bank in the prefecture have attracted more participants than expected. Meanwhile, Bank of Fukuoka sent staff to a consulting firm in New Delhi on Sept. 1. Hokuriku Bank and Hiroshima Bank will send employees to an accounting consulting firm and a venture capital firm in October and November, respectively. Kansai Mirai Bank will send personnel to the New Delhi representative office of the government-linked Japan Bank for International Cooperation in January next year. Joyo Bank, Fukui Bank and Aichi Bank plan to send people to offices of the Japan External Trade Organization in parts of India in April next year. Yosuke Ishii, a lawyer at the Midosuji law firm, who is well-versed in Indian legal affairs, said, “Regional banks that have relationships of trust with Japanese small and midsize companies hold the key to whether such companies can start business in India.” He added, however, that Japanese companies need to negotiate patiently with Indian businesses if they want to establish joint ventures in India. He stated that many Indian companies “want to make use of Japan’s excellent technology while minimizing concessions.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]