The Hindu : Business : ICRA's European foray

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 10, 2004

Business

Business

ICRA's European foray

By our Staff Correspondent

KOLKATA, APRIL 9. Rating agency, ICRA Ltd., is negotiating with an overseas partner to set foot in an European country. This is the company's first venture beyond Asia. The company has already set foot in Kuwait, Oman and Bangladesh through technical collaborations.

Talking to The Hindu, Managing Director, P. K. Chowdhury, said that except Bangladesh, the company was extending its support to overseas partners on a profit sharing basis. The rating agency in Kuwait has already been operational. The Oman operations would start shortly to be followed by the most recent collaboration with Credit Rating Agency of Bangladesh.

Mr. Chowdhury said the company was currently in advanced stages of negotiation with parties in two Asian and one European country. "Of the three, we are expecting the collaboration with the partner in Europe to mature first.''

While maintaining silence on issues related to binding restrictions, if any, on the part of Moody's with whom ICRA has a standing collaboration, in expanding ICRA's services abroad, ICRA MD could only reveal that Moody's was not present in the said European destination.

Sources in the company, however, confirm that existence of such restrictions on the part of Moody's, impact ICRA's expansion plans. "We can expand in the territories where Moody's is not interested.''

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