From correspondents in West Bengal, India, 08:33 PM IST

The IDBI Bank Ltd is planning to enter the mutual fund business, a top bank official said here Friday.

Talking on the sidelines of a Banking Conclave here, Yogesh Agarwal, the bank's chairman and managing director, said: 'We are talking to a few foreign companies for setting up an asset management company, where we would have the majority holding.'

It is expected that the bank would post a 25 percent credit growth in the current fiscal.

The bank is planning to open five branches abroad, for which it is yet to get necessary approvals. It has applied for full-scale branches in Singapore, Dubai, Bahrain and London and is looking forward to opening a representative office in Shanghai.

IDBI also plans to open 200 new branches in the country.

The bank is also planning to venture into private equity business, either alone or through a joint venture.

IDBI arm IDBI Capital Market Services Ltd is planning to set up a credit information bureau through a joint venture with credit rating agency CARE. The new entity will have a capital base of Rs.200 million.

'We are waiting for the final approval from the Reserve Bank of India to begin operations,' Agarwal said.

It would be a separate company, with both the entities having equal stakes. The credit information bureau would provide information regarding credit worthiness of borrowers.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)