Highlights:
- ICICI Banks launches “Infinite India”
- Infinite India is an all-inclusive online platform for the overseas companies setting up operations in India
- “Infinite India” will offer banking as well as value-added services
ICICI Bank has announced the launch of its online platform which will help the overseas firms which are looking to establish or expand their business operations in India. The platform which is called “infinite India” will offer those firms banking solutions along with the value-added services.
An initiative which is the first in the Indian banking sector will offer significant convenience to the companies headquartered overseas as it will eliminate the need for coordinating with multiple touchpoints which often led to hassle for the firms in doing business in India.
Executive Director at ICICI Bank, Ms Vishakha Mulye commented on the launch of the “Infinite India” platform and said, “Over the years, India has emerged as a preferred destination for foreign investment. We believe that a young demographic profile, strong consumer demand and supportive Government initiatives have boosted India’s economic outlook significantly.
“The ‘Infinite India’ initiative is part of our strategy to further strengthen our technology-enabled offerings aimed to partner with foreign companies coming to India.”
Mulye also said, “We believe that our dedicated strategy for this segment will further simplify the journey of foreign companies looking to start or expand their business in India.”
Here are the key “value-added” offering in “Infinite India” platform:
HR Services: The “Infinite India” platform will offer assistance in the implementation of the HR related services which will include return filing, payroll processing and Provident Fund (PF) registration.
Incorporation Services: the platform has been curated for the set-up stage as it offers advisory on laws and regulations to incorporate a business in India which could be as a joint venture, wholly owned subsidiary, liaison office, branch office, project office or a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP).
Licences and Registration: Companies overseas will be able to apply and also obtain licences and registrations promptly on import/export code, FSSAI license, trade license, copyright solutions and patent registrations via “Infinite India” platform.
Taxation and Compliance: Foreign companies will also be able to access an array of tax and compliance-related services which will include filing annual returns of a company, GST registration, income tax returns along with the corporate filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) for the registered office and amendment in the Memorandum of Association (MoA).
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Let us take a look at the key banking services offered in “Infinite India” platform:
Authorise Set-Up of Office: Being an an ‘Authorised Dealer Category 1’, the Bank has the power to authorise the setup of Liaison Office (LO), Branch Office (BO) as well as a Project Office (PO) in India within the FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) framework.
State-of-the-Art Digital Channels: The Current Accounts holders with the ICICI Bank will get access to its Corporate Internet Banking platform which offers more than 300 services along with a mobile banking application. It also enables the businesses to undertake almost all of their banking needs digitally which includes payments, receivables, foreign exchange, tax payments among many others.
They also get the convenience of an automatic bank reconciliation with ICICI Bank’s Connected Banking, which is featured with popular accounting / ERP platforms. On top of all this, they get the facility to easily undertake integrations with the Bank by using the APIs readily available on ICICI Bank’s API portal.
Trade Services with a wide Global Network: The “Infinite India” platform also offers a wide range of trade finance solutions which includes the Bank Guarantee (BG), Letter of Credit (LC), remittances among several others. Additionally, it will offer these through a holistic digital platform called “Trade Online”.
Further, it provides outreach with the correspondent network of more than 400 foreign banks which are situated over 67 countries around the globe and foreign currency Nostro accounts in 26 different currencies, which makes sure that all of the international trade requirements are met.
Treasury Services: The platform from the ICICI Bank will also provide access to the leading treasury operations in the country which will be available round-the-clock. On top of this, it also offers online booking of forex trades as well as a web-based treasury solution.
