State Bank of India eyes growth in Japan

Lender is also eager to act as broker that facilitates collaboration between Indian and Japanese firms.

The State Bank of India's Japanese regional head Arijit Basu said the lender's balance sheet in Japan will show 30 percent to 40 percent growth from the previous year and mark $1.8 billion profit for the business year to March.

The bank also wants to help Indian companies that are interested in collaborating with Japanese firms, he added.

For the three years until 2008, the number of Japanese companies that had any kind of presence in India jumped from 500 to 800, Basu said in a report in Japan Times.

To help those firms, State Bank of India made business alliances with Mizuho Corporate Bank, Risona Bank and Hokuriku Bank so their clients in Japan could use its local banking facilities in India.