The State Bank of India, which earlier set up an infrastructure fund along with Australia's Macquaire and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), is now in the process of setting up a joint venture private equity fund in Oman.
The bank is also in the process of building up an employee base for its future expansion programmes.
SBI and Macquarie hold 45 per cent stake each in the infrastructure fund while IFC holds the remaining 10 per cent stake. The fund has projected a total capital, including contributions from domestic institutions, of $2-3 billion.
“The bank is at an advanced stage in setting up a general purpose private equity fund jointly with sovereign entities in Oman. The Indian government has designated the bank as the operationalising agency for a similar sovereign fund with Qatar. Several other funds are at various stages of formation,” SBI said in its annual report.
SBI also has an India-focused infrastructure fund with Macquire and Washington, to boost investment in the country's infrastructure sector. The fund has mobilised over $1 billion and plans to continue fund raising activities the whole year.
SBI also holds a 20 per cent stake in Mumbai-based private Sage Capital Fund Management.
The bank proposes to raise around Rs20,000 crore as Tier I capital (the bank's core equity capital) in the current financial year. It is also seeking to raise funds through rights issue, which would implicate a contribution of Rs 12,000 crore from the government.
The bank also plans to hire around 13,000 persons at various levels during the current fiscal, reports quoting sources at the bank said.
SBI said it plans to deploy the new recruits across various businesses with objective to drive productivity.
SBI said the recruitment drive is also aimed at grooming future leaders as it expands business.
SBI is currently in the process of recruiting officers, marketing and recovery (rural), and technical officers (farm sector).
Source: Domain B