GE Commercial Finance, which has an asset base of more than $230 billion globally, is planning to increase its exposure in the Indian market.
The company, which is registered as NBFC (non-banking financial institution) in India, is targetting an asset base of over $8 billion by 2010 from less than $4 billion at present. The financing behemoth is betting on real estate, aviation, infrastructure and energy to drive growth.
Speaking to Business Standard, Tejpreet S Chopra, president & CEO, GE Commercial Finance India said, "Globally, we are among the top to finance commercial sectors across a range of sectors which we understand in depth. Be it infrastructure, manufacturing, power, real estate, we have been pioneering funding with a plethora of instruments. We should be breaching the $8 billion mark much ahead of our target time."
Though Chopra declined to spell out the company's current asset base, industry sources confirmed that it was close to $4 billion.
Chopra said that the bulk of the growth over the next three years will come from real estate investments, which would be at least $2 billion in three years time. "We have exposure of close to $1 billion in the aviation sector in India and this is also expected to grow, given the kind of demand here," Chopra said.
GE Commercial Finance however does not take equity or debt exposure in any of the airline operators, but only provides a range of fleet, financing and productivity solutions. It is also keenly looking at increasing its exposure to the telecommunication sector in India, where it has a nominal exposure currently.
GE Commercial Finance is shying away from investing in the software sector in India as it feels it may not bring much value to this sector. "We have had minor exposure to this segment. We generally tend to invest in sectors, which we understand in-depth and where we can bring value and grow a company globally through GE's network. We do not have pressures like a traditional private equity fund which has a cycle of investment and exits," Chopra elaborated.
GE Commercial Finance, which is among the strong growth engines for GE globally, has been providing consistent returns on investments in excess of 20 per cent. Chopra further stressed that the company was keen to enter the Indian banking sector as a full-fledged bank post 2009.
© 2025