Standard Chartered Bank is likely to bring 'tens of millions' of dollars into the country to start new subsidiaries and expand its domestic operations.

In his maiden interface with the press, StanChart chief executive officer India region, Christopher M Low, who took over from Jaspal Bindra in January, said that the bank is looking at opening subsidiaries for specific purposes.

Unwilling to disclose the type of subsidiaries that may be opened in the country, Low said the amount of investments could run into tens of millions of dollars.

Meantime, after a gap of two years, the StanChart global board will meet in India again, this time in Chennai on March 31 and April 1. The last time that the bank board had met in India was in October 2000, in Delhi.

StanChart is opening 23 branches making an investment of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million) in each branch. With this, the bank's branch network will be 81-strong, making its two-and-a-half times the network of the second largest network of a foreign bank.

StanChart currently has a 100 per cent subsidiary in India, called Scope, which executes back-office processing for 34 countries including credit card payments, trade finance, etc.

The other active subsidiaries in the country are StanChart AMC Pvt Ltd, Standard Chartered UTI Securities Pvt Ltd and Standard Chartered Finance.

The bank is also looking at winding down three or four of the subsidiaries, which it had acquired from Grindlays post the takeover.

On his strategies for the country, Low said, "We will revise some of our strategies. We want to be recognised as the best bank in this region in profitability and customer service. We are also looking being more cost-efficient through further outsourcing opportunities."

He added that the bank is readjusting its focus on credit cards. "There are a number of banks which have achieved success. We are looking at value added benefits for the customers -- tailor-made cards for the customers. We now have the information to make specific credit cards for specific consumers," Low said.

"Four years ago, the Indian operation contributed less than one per cent of the revenues which has jumped to 12 per cent in 2002. India has become the third largest geographical area in the group. The group recognises the huge opportunity that the market is offering," said Low.