The Mauritius based IndusInd International Holdings Ltd (IIHL) announced in its Annual General Meeting (AGM) that its subsidiary IndusInd Bank, which operates 148 branches in India, will expand its financial services in strategic markets, including the Middle East, with significant NRI and Indian-origin populations.

IIHL is likely to make its presence felt in places such as the UAE, Britain, the US, Hong Kong and Malaysia through "joint ventures, strategic alliances or total acquisitions" of banking assets.

"The IndusInd concept of establishing a global platform to mobilize the contributions of NRIs for investment in India was appreciated and approved by Manmohan Singh, the then Finance Minister," recalled Mr. S.P. Hinduja, Chairman, IIHL.

IIHL concluded its 15th Annual General Meeting under the able chairmanship of Mr. S.P. Hinduja. Mr. Romesh Sobti will now head the management team as CEO of IndusInd Bank.

In his opening speech Mr. S.P. Hinduja, said: "The plans of Mr. Romesh Sobti and his team for the Bank are essentially based on two planks, namely: building on its strengths and remedying the weaknesses. The management team is confident that the Bank will overtake its peers in the next three years, as measured by the criteria of Productivity, Profitability, and Efficiency."

Having overcome its past problems, IndusInd Bank is now poised for rapid growth as a significantly strengthened entity.

"Its capital adequacy ratio (CAR), a key indicator of stability, stands at a comfortable 11.91 percent as on March 31, 2008, well above the regulatory minimum in India of 9 percent," said Mr. Hinduja.

The ratio further improved to 13.16% at the end of the April-June quarter of the current fiscal from 12.16% in the first quarter of the previous fiscal.

"The bank also enjoys the highest ratings on its debt instruments from the leading rating agencies in India - CRISIL, ICRA, and Fitch. The bank has consistently remained profitable every single year of its existence, right from its very first year of operations," Hinduja said.

IndusInd Bank was floated with US $35 million capital base pooled in from Non-Resident Indians in April 1994. Its net worth stood at US $178.17 million as of March 31, this year. In June, the Bank raised US $51.73 million (around Rs 222 crore) through issuance of Global Depository Receipts to ensure the growth of its balance sheet as per its business plan. This Bank was the first one to become a part of RBI's Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system.