September 27, 2025

Mumbai is buzzing with fresh financial moves! Standard Chartered India's CEO, P D Singh, has shared his exciting views on the growing India-Middle East trade corridor. He says rupee invoicing is gaining ground here, although slowly. "It is picking up in Middle Eastern corridors and could expand in future, much like how Chinese yuan invoicing became common in solar equipment trade," Singh explained. This is a steady but important change for India's trade. The Indian government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are pushing for international use of the rupee. Their goal? To protect foreign exchange reserves and boost energy security. But there’s a hitch—the trade balance isn’t always even, making progress tricky. Standard Chartered isn’t just watching; it’s acting! The bank is growing its role in foreign exchange clearing. Singh shared some powerhouse info: "We are the number one or two in GBP (pound) and euro clearing for the Indian banking system. Outside G3 currencies, the rupee is the biggest in correspondent banking flows. With 33 Indian banks as partners, this positions us strongly as a clearing bank." Soon, the bank will start US dollar clearing from GIFT City, adding more muscle to its services. On energy trade, Singh tackled the tough topic of moving away from Russian crude oil. He said India can bear the extra costs if sanctions tighten. "If India were to switch entirely to US oil, the additional cost would be $6-7 billion. In the broader context of Indian economy, that is not a very large number. From the bank's standpoint, we will not deal with sanctioned entities," he made clear. Singh also touched on US visa policy changes, especially H-1B rules. Though it's early to judge the impact, he stressed India's solid standing. "We are banking five to seven new GCCs every month, and in our own centres in Chennai and Bangalore we employ around 24,000 people. India today is not just a cost hub, it is a skills hub," he said proudly. So, from boosting rupee's global reach in Middle East trade to sharp moves in forex clearing and standing strong amid energy shifts and visa policy changes, Standard Chartered India is a bank on the move—and India is ready to shine on the global stage!

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Tags: India-middle east trade, Rupee invoicing, Standard chartered, Foreign exchange clearing, Energy trade, Us visa policy,