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Tata Fin likely to sell 2-wheeler portfolio

BS Bureaus in Mumbai | July 26, 2003 11:20 IST

Tata Finance is taking a relook at its two-wheeler finance portfolio as part of its ongoing restructuring programme. A host of banks are said to be in talks with the company to take over the portfolio.

Tata Finance Chairman Ishaat Hussain said: "We have a profitable two-wheeler portfolio of around Rs 250 crore (Rs 2.50 billion). It is a small business, and we are taking a relook at this activity. We can give it to someone who is good at it."

Banking sources said HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank had already talked with the company. Both are aggressive players in the two-wheeler finance segment.

"We have been talking to several players in this regard. However, no conclusion has been arrived at," Tata Finance Executive Director F J da Cunha told Business Standard.

"We are looking at different options for the business. We are already the preferred financers for Hero Honda, Yamaha, Honda Motors, etc."

Meanwhile, Tata Finance and the Bureau of Hire Purchase and Credit, a division of Tata Engineering (to be renamed Tata Motors), will be integrating their operations from August.

Hussain explained that Tata Finance would now focus on its core area -- four-wheeler financing -- in a manner similar to the financing arms of large automobile makers such as Ford and General Motors.

Multinational companies typically finance 30-35 per cent of the vehicles made by their parent companies.

"Currently, Tata Finance does about 15 per cent of Tata Engineering's business. Our aim is to make the company's operations more profitable. However, we do not rule out diversifying in the future, for instance into the mortgage business," Hussain added.

The company had earlier sold its credit card business for around Rs 32 crore (Rs 320 million) to ICICI Bank. It had also sold the forex business to American Express, and has signed a share-purchase agreement to sell Tata Home Finance to IDBI.

It had sold a part of its windmill assets to group company Tata Power. Several real-estate assets and a charter plane were also sold.


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