ICICI Bank partners with Alibaba.com to offer easier trade finance for Indian SMEs

June 22, 2015

Mumbai: ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector bank announced its association with Alibaba.com for the launch of the Trade Facilitation Center, a single window facility to provide easier trade finance to the small and medium enterprises in India.

The collaboration for Trade Facilitation Center will enable the Indian entrepreneurs who are members of Alibaba.com to get quick access to an array of integrated business services from ICICI Bank including business loans, cash management solutions, foreign exchange transactions, bank guarantees and cross-border remittances, in addition to privileges and discounts.

Mr. Rajiv Sabharwal, Executive Director, ICICI Bank said, “We are delighted to be the first bank in India to partner with Alibaba.com for their online Trade Facilitation Centre. ICICI Bank has been leading with innovations in the online space. This collaboration underlines our commitment to providing users with banking solutions that simplify their lives. With this, we will offer to the members of Alibaba.com special propositions across our entire spectrum of business services ranging from accounts, letter of credit, bank guarantees, remittances, forex, loans and cash management solutions. We believe this access to quick and integrated banking will enable Indian entrepreneurs to propel their business on the global platform.”

Mr. Bhushan Patil, Channels Director, Alibaba.com in India said, “With Trade Facilitation Center, Alibaba.com expects to offer access to various financing, credit and logistics services provided by ICICI Bank for our Indian customers. We have also worked to sweeten this proposition by enabling Alibaba.com’s members in India to enjoy better rates and discounts on ICICI Bank’s products and services”

To know more on Trade Facilitation Center, users can visit http://activities.alibaba.com/alibaba/tfc_index.php

This cooperation comes close on the heels of a slew of technology-led innovative services introduced by the Bank. The list includes new apps for mobile banking, fully automated and round-the-clock 'Touch Banking' branches, Tab Banking, banking on Facebook and Twitter, the country's first contactless debit and credit cards, and ‘Pockets’, India’s first digital bank on mobile phone. The Bank has 4050 branches, the largest among private sector banks and 12451 ATMs (at March 31, 2015).

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About ICICI Bank Ltd:
ICICI Bank Ltd (NYSE:IBN) is India's largest private sector bank with consolidated total assets of US $ 132.17 billion at March 31, 2015. ICICI Bank's subsidiaries include India's leading private sector insurance companies and among its largest securities brokerage firms, mutual funds and private equity firms. ICICI Bank's presence currently spans 17 countries, including India.

About Alibaba.com:
The first business of Alibaba Group, Alibaba.com (www.alibaba.com) is the leading platform for global wholesale trade serving millions of buyers and suppliers around the world. Through Alibaba.com, small businesses can sell their products to companies in other countries. Sellers on Alibaba.com are typically manufacturers and distributors based in China and other manufacturing countries such as India, Pakistan, the United States and Thailand.

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