New-generation private sector bank, YES Bank, is likely to raise USD 80 million in the first round of fund-raising for its private equity fund focused on clean technology, a top bank official said.
“We will be raising USD 80 million in the first phase. The first closure of the cleantech fund is expected within the next two to three months,” Yes Bank’s COO, Alok Rastogi, told PTI here.
The bank is partnering private equity firm Global Environment Fund for the cleantech fund, which is targeting a total corpus of USD 200 million.
Global Environment Fund primarily invests in clean technology and energy-efficiency segments in emerging markets, he said.
“The cleantech fund will invest in small-and-medium enterprises in South-East Asia, including India,” Rastogi said.
In the last few years, clean technology has attracted a significant interest from venture capital and private equity firms.
The economic meltdown and credit crunch last year had its impact on the cleantech sector too, Rastogi said.
The bank also plans to recruit over 1,000 personnel, including 500 specialists, over the next nine-months to drive expansion in key segments, he said.
“Somewhere between now and December, we plan to add nearly 1,000 managerial staff in some of the major divisions,” Rastogi said.
Currently, the bank has a total employee-strength of around 3,000. This is likely to go up to nearly 4,000 by December 2010.
Yes Bank also has plans to set up 3,000 ATMs in Tier-II and Tier-III cities over the next five-years.
“We are planning to set up 3,000 ATMs in the next five-years which will expand our footprint and help us build a strong customer base pan-India,” he said.
Source:The Hindu