To double turnover to Rs 4,500 crore this fiscal: IFFS

AHMEDABAD: India Factoring and Financial Solutions ( IFFS), a joint venture of Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Malta-based FIM Bank, today said it is looking at doubling the turnover this fiscal.

"We are targetting a volume of Rs 4,500 crore to Rs 5,000 crore by this fiscal year end and expect a significant growth to come from Gujarat, which is a fast developing hub for small and mid-size corporates," IFFS CEO Sudeb Sarbadhikary said.

According to company estimates, there are around 7,000 to 8,000 SME units in Gujarat.

The company, which provides financial solutions to over 250 SMEs and SSIs from its seven offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, is looking to expand in Gujarat.

"We shall expand forward in Gujarat to Vadodara, Ankleshwar, Gandhidham, Surat, Rajkot...within this financial year. Around 35 per cent of our business is from western India and Gujarat has a major role in it," Sarbadhikary said.

Factoring is a financial transaction, where a business sells its accounts receivable to a third party called 'factor', which undertakes the activity of financing the receivables, providing the debt and collecting it.

The company, which has become a member of Brussels- based International Factors Group, had closed with a turnover of Rs 2,300 crore last fiscal (2011-2012).

The Mumbai-based company's total outstanding assets currently stood at Rs 800 crore.

Major shareholders in the company include FIMBank (49 percent), PNB (30 per cent) and Banca IFIS (10 per cent).

The current Indian factoring market is pegged at Rs 25,000 crore.