India’s biggest lender SBI has signed a loan agreement of $1 billion with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), taking the total facility to $2 billion, including $1 billion which was signed last year in October 2020. The loan is in the form of refinancing against the funding support provided to the manufacturers, suppliers and dealers of Japanese automobiles in India, whose business activities are recovering from reduced sales of automobiles due to the COVID-19. The financing will assist in the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, SBI said, adding the loan is intended to promote the smooth flow of funds for the whole range of business operations of Japanese automobile manufacturers in India.
JBIC is a policy-based financial institution, wholly owned by the Japanese government, with the objective of contributing to the sound development of Japan, the international economy, and society.
On the occasion of signing the agreement, Dinesh Khara, Chairman, SBI, said “Covid 19 crisis has delivered a significant shock to global trade, disrupted production lines and depressed global demand. At a time when people are preferring a personal mode of transport, this collaboration between SBI and JBIC will help the bank in extending the loan facility to the entire supply chain of the Japanese automobile industry including suppliers, dealers and ultimately to the end-users.”
Ayukawa, MD & CEO, Maruti Suzuki said, “Maruti Suzuki is making efforts to balance between the environmental friendliness of our vehicles and our customer’s need. The special support for our environmentally friendly vehicles will accelerate Suzuki group’s initiative towards environmental care”.