ABN AMRO's trade finance division has expanded its offering in India by giving customers access to its online trade portal MaxTrad and a working capital program called Channel Finance.
MaxTrad is already being used by the bank's clients in other Asian countries allowing them to manage several stages in the trade cycle across the internet. They use the system to initiate letters of credit, capture date, deliver purchase orders, prepare documents, buy or sell foreign exchange and arrange settlement.
Globally, ABN AMRO is expecting to have 2,000 users of the system by the end of this year, and the bank is on track to meet this target. About 40% of these users trade in Asia. Next year, MaxTrad will be offered in Chinese and Japanese language.
The bank's county representative in India, Romesh Sobti, says: "Businesses operating in India have a huge opportunity for growth. ABN AMRO's coverage, industry knowledge and technology can help them to make the most of that opportunity."
Sobti believes MaxTrad will also help Indian companies that have operations overseas to improve communications with their satellite offices and manage the trade finance process from a central location.
ABN AMRO's other product launch in India is Channel Finance -- a working capital program that helps importers and exporters gain access to credit based on the risk profile of their supply chain. "The working capital requirements of businesses can vary significantly and do not always match the flow of funds in their supply chain," says Daniel Cotti, managing director of working capital global trade advisory for ABN AMRO. "We can help these businesses to run better financially by applying expertise in financial supply chain management, understanding of risk and leveraging off other client relationships to provide cost-effective working capital solutions."
Sobti says the bank will soon launch other financing products in India including vendor financing, international factoring and credit insurance.
