EXIM Bank's role: Providing export credit is the traditional and conventional role of EXIM Bank.

Besides providing pre-shipment credit and post-shipment credit, over the years, EXIM Bank has introduced new products or variations in its existing products. EXIM Bank offers Lines of Credit to overseas entities in order to finance small value export contracts under one umbrella arrangement. EXIM Bank offers Buyer's Credit for projects overseas where there is scope to source Indian goods and services. EXIM Bank offers credit to Indian exporters i.e. Supplier's Credit, in order to enable Indian exporters to offer matching credit to their overseas buyers. EXIM Bank offers export credit not only for exports of goods but also for consultancy and technology services. EXIM Bank introduced forfaiting in India as an alternative to traditional export credits. Similarly, EXIM Bank introduced Foreign Currency Preshipment Credit and Post-shipment Credit as an alternative to Rupee credits. This whole range of export credits is available for financing exports to Latin America. Gone are the days of mercantile trade when shiploads of goods were being transported across the seas. Now trade and investment go hand in hand. Trade is driven by strategic alliances based on competitive advantage and complementarity. India is strategically placed on the geographical map to be an ideal business partner. India is at the epicentre connecting the European and South Pacific ends; besides being the nerve centre of a booming South-East Asian market. India offers not only cost-effective manufacturing base in view of abundance of its natural resources, technological skills now recognized internationally, but can also serve as a springboard for covering virtually half the globe - comprising Asia, the Middle East, the South Pacific - including its own vast domestic market of almost 1 bn people. For promoting trade with Latin America, please therefore, consider the route of strategic Alliances, which I would group in four categories: First, Technology or Marketing Tie-ups where an Indian company joins hands with an overseas partner in areas of design, production technology, marketing. The second type of alliance consists of shifting manufacturing bases to India or setting up, say, manufacturing units in Latin America as a global source of production. Third, an Indian company promotes a joint venture overseas to facilitate local manufacturing and customization of products. The fourth type of strategic alliance has emerged to respond to the phenomenon of trade blocs. In order to be able to export or sell within a trade bloc, an Indian company, either by joining hands with an existing company or by way of acquisition of a firm, sets up presence within a trade bloc. EXIM Bank's financing is not restricted to exports. We provide investment financing as well. Bank offers equity finance to Indian companies for setting up ventures abroad. Bank has provided cumulative finance of over Rs. 4 bn for supporting 65 overseas ventures in 28 countries. Out of this, 59 were new ventures and 6 acquisitions. EXIM Bank can now be your equity partner also in overseas ventures. Beginning this year, we have taken equity in two Indian ventures overseas, one in UK and the other in Zimbabwe. There is good potential for joint ventures in Latin America in Information Technology, pharmaceuticals and engineering goods. EXIM Bank will be willing to support such joint ventures by providing loans and through participation in equity. EXIM Bank seeks to promote Foreign Direct Investment in India as well. As a partner institution of European Commission under the European Community Investment Partners Programme (ECIP), Exim Bank and the European Community jointly finance ventures in India between European companies and Indian companies with a package of grant, interest free loans, equity and commercial loans. Out of 32 proposals sponsored by EXIM Bank under ECIP, 20 have fructified into joint ventures with investment companies from France, Italy, Germany and other West European countries. Apart from finance under ECIP, EXIM Bank provides term loans in Rupee and in foreign currencies, for setting up such joint ventures in India. This is to encourage overseas investors to use India as a manufacturing base for catering to overseas markets. This involves imports of plant and machinery and raw materials. EXIM Bank's finance is available for such imports as well. Financing for joint ventures abroad as also in India is backed by information and advisory services provided by the Bank through its network of 5 Offices abroad and 7 in India, as also through institutional linkages that it has developed with multilateral institutions, ECAs, trade and investment promotion agencies overseas, e.g. EXIM Bank is a correspondent of BRE network of European Commission for dissemination of information of business opportunities in Europe as also in India. Bank has signed a cooperation agreement with Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) for supporting Indian investment overseas. Similarly EXIM Bank has in place institutional linkages in Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, China, Bahrain, Poland, Singapore, Mexico, Spain and other countries of Asia and Europe. For promoting bilateral trade and investment, EXIM Bank organizes seminars

and workshops on topics relevant to trade and investment such as export marketing, quality upgradation, packaging, business opportunities available in projects funded by multilateral agencies, such as World Bank. For this purpose, EXIM Bank has set up a state-of-art Centre for Learning in Bangalore, where we invite our network partners to conduct programmes for promoting bilateral trade and investment. We will be happy to place this facility at the disposal of investment promotion agencies in Latin America for conducting similar programmes in Bangalore and elsewhere in India. EXIM Bank has established close relationship with multilateral funding institutions i.e. World Bank, African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for promoting Indian participation in projects funded by these agencies as also co-financing such projects. With EXIM Bank's support, Indian companies are securing contracts in projects funded by these agencies, which evidences increasing recognition of Indian capabilities and appropriateness of technology. EXIM Bank has arrangements with International Finance Corporation, Washington, to provide Indian consultancy needed for private sector development in Africa. Indian consultants offer technical and managerial services in assignments under Business Advisory Services for the Caribbean & Central America, South Pacific Project Development Facility, Polish Business Advisory Services and the Technical Assistance Trust Funds Programme. EXIM Bank has concluded similar arrangements with Eastern & Southern African Trade and Development Bank (PTA Bank) and African Management Services Company (AMSCO), Netherlands, for providing Indian consultants. Most recently, the EXIM- IFC arrangement has been extended to help entrepreneurs in the Mekong region to identify and implement investment projects. Inter-American Development Bank is a major source of development finance in Latin America with annual funding of US$ 10bn. As India is not a member of IDB, projects in Latin America funded by IDB are not open for bidding by Indian companies. However, next to IDB, World Bank is a major source of financing in Latin America. EXIM Bank's support is available to Indian companies for bidding in projects in Latin America funded by World Bank. EXIM Bank has established contacts with Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) which belongs to IDB group and promotes development of its Latin American and Caribbean member countries by financing small and medium size enterprises. EXIM Bank will seek to develop linkages with IIC for promoting cooperation between SMEs in the private sectors of Latin America and India. Under the arrangement with IFC Washington, EXIM Bank has cumulatively funded 46 assignments secured by Indian consultants in different countries of Africa and Asia. However, the facility available for Caribbean and Central America has remained unutilized. Again, lack of familiarity with Indian skills and capabilities explains absence of Indian consultants in Latin America and the Caribbean. EXIM Bank has gained, over the past 17 years, experience of institution-building in the field of export financing and export marketing. We share this experience with other developing countries by offering consultancy for institutionbuilding. EXIM Bank has provided consultancy for establishing export credit guarantee facility for Gulf Cooperation Council countries, for developing regional cooperation in export financing and export credit guarantees for ESCAP, for setting up AFREXIM Bank , for designing of export financing programmes in Turkey, for setting up EXIM Bank in Malaysia, for designing export marketing seminars for SMEs in Vietnam. Recognizing the successful implementation of export development project in India by EXIM Bank, World Bank invited EXIM Bank to advise on export development project in Ukraine and Enterprise support Fund in Armenia. Currently, EXIM Bank is advising Central Bank in Zimbabwe for setting up an export credit guarantee facility and similarly providing consultancy to Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa for developing International Finance and export marketing finance products. EXIM Bank will be happy to share its experience in institution-building with development finance institutions in Latin America. Ladies and gentlemen, the last century of the 2nd Millennium was driven by manufacturing. It will be the turn of information and knowledge-based services that will drive the first century of the 3rd Millennium. India is well poised to take the lead in this new opportunity. Let Latin America and India join hands from across the great geographical divide as the New Millennium will not recognize physical frontiers with technology driving greater convergence and integration of the entire globe.