GuideMeSingapore

According to the Wall Street Journal:

ICICI Bank Ltd., India’s biggest private-sector lender by assets, said Monday Singapore’s central bank has granted qualified full banking privileges to its branch in the city-state.

“…It (the approval) will further strengthen our footprint in the corporate, commercial, wealth management and direct banking services in Singapore,” Chanda Kochhar, ICICI Bank’s managing director and chief executive, said in a statement.

The bank didn’t give any other details. According to the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Web site, qualified full banking privileges allow foreign banks to set up offices, branches and automated teller machines at 25 locations and share ATMs among themselves.

ICICI bank had received a license to start banking services from the Singapore central bank in 2003.

ICICI Bank is the second Indian financial institution to get this authorization in Singapore; State Bank of India, was given a similar license two years ago. These licenses are a part of a bilateral agreement between India and Singapore to open up their financial sector. The Indian central bank had reciprocally allowed DBS, Singapore’s largest bank, to open another eight branches in the country. Another Singapore bank, UOB was also given the nod for a branch operation in India. These developments are a sign of the deepening economic ties between the governments of the two countries.

On a lighter note, here is an ad from ICICI bank featuring one of India’s poplular actors…

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