British Columbia bullish on masala bonds

\ Mumbai, Oct 26 (PTI) The Canadian province of British\Columbia, which recently became the first foreign government\entity to invest in masala bonds, is bullish on the Indian\economy and keen to help develop the overseas rupee bond\market, a senior official said today.\ \\"We are bullish on the growth of the Indian economy and\keen in supporting further development of the masala bond\market among Indian entities and other foreign governments.\ \\"To explore this opportunity, our business delegation has\met Indian PSUs and corporates for partnerships in masala bond\market,\\" British Columbia\\’s Finance Minister Michael de Jong\told reporters here.\ Last month, British Columbia became the first foreign\government entity to invest in masala bonds, issued by HDFC.\ Masala bonds offer British Columbia a means to participate\in the internationalisation of the rupee and Indian economy,\Jong said.\ HDFC\\’s Executive Director V S Rangan said, \\"We feel\privileged that the Province of British Columbia was the first\foreign government entity to pick up Rs 5 billion worth of\rupee-denominated masala bonds issued by us last month. It\highlights the government of British Columbia\\’s strong views\about India\\’s positive economic outlook.\\"\ HSBC India\\’s global banking and markets head Hitendra Dave\added, \\"We believe that the masala bonds are going to be an\important financing alternative for Indian corporates looking\to access offshore investors. We welcome British Columbia\\’s\efforts in helping develop this market and in the\internationalisation of the rupee.\\"\ Jong is leading a trade delegation on a five-day visit to\the country to explore investment opportunities and further\strengthen trade ties with India.\ The Canadian province\\’s exports to India jumped from USD\201 million in 2011 to USD 623 million in 2015, making India\its fifth-largest trading partner.\ Jong met with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley earlier this\week to discuss ways to strengthen economic ties between the\two markets.\ The meeting was an attempt at building on the growing\bilateral ties since the visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi\to Vancouver last year. (MORE) PTI AP BEN NRB\ABM\SRE\