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This will allow Indian firms to better raise capital abroadINDIA'S regulators should reduce red tape to allow its companies to better raise capital from overseas markets, said DBS Group Holdings chief executive Piyush Gupta yesterday.自存倉He also urged the country to ease restrictions on foreign banks entering the country so as to tap their strengths.Countries such as India often look to banks to fulfil multiple agendas, which can include those for the financial sector and rural development, he said."As banks go in, you expect them to check the box on every agenda. In my view, that is perhaps a sub-optimal way to operate. There are multiple requirements that a country has, and you need to find different participants to be able to address different sets of those requirements," said Mr Gupta.He suggested India could tap foreign banks to fill the capital shortfall rather than expect them to do rural banking in the heartlands as well.Mr Gupta, who was born in India but is now a Singapore citizen, began his career in 1982 with Citibank in India.DBS entered India in 1995 and is now the fourth-largest foreign bank, with 12 branches and 37 ATMs in the country.DBS has said it will open at least 50 branches in India within three years of some branch restrictions being removed.Mr Gupta, speaking on the second day of the South Asian Diaspora Convention held at the Suntec Si迷你倉gapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre, also called on India to free up rules on local firms seeking to raise capital abroad. India recently allowed firms to list overseas without first having a home listing, but there are a two-year trial period and limitations on the use of funds if they list only abroad.Indian companies issuing bonds overseas also face restrictions, said Mr Gupta. For instance, they must borrow for five years and the borrowing rate is capped at the benchmark Libor rate plus 5 per cent."If you're a mid-cap company in India, there's no way you can access international financial markets at Libor plus 5 per cent," he said. "Fundamentally, you're disabling this whole range of companies from realistically accessing the international capital markets."But the chairman of India's securities market regulator defended some of the restrictions, such as the caps on use of funds for firms that list only abroad. Said Securities and Exchange Board of India chairman U.K. Sinha at the same session: "We are not against companies listing outside but we want the domestic capital market to also develop."Singapore Exchange (SGX) chief executive Magnus Bocker said at the event that India's government has given his company permission to establish a liaison office in the country. The office will profile SGX's products and services.jonkwok@sph.com.sgmini storage