Netherlands for Indian bank on its soil to aid bilateral trade

KOLKATA: The Netherlands is in favour of presence of Indian financial institutions and banks on its soil to support growing bilateral trade with India and hopes that with Brexit, the reality comes to the fore sooner.

"India is the fifth largest investor in Holland and 20 per cent of India's total export to European Union is through the Netherlands. So, it is proper to have an Indian bank or institution having a base there," Netherlands Ambassador to India, Alphonsus Stoelinga told PTI.

Speaking on the sidelines of an interactive session at the Bharat Chamber of Commerce, he said that following Brexit, now it is up to the financial sector to choose from three destinations in the European Union - Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam.


Stoelinga indicated that a bank like the State Bank of India should look at opportunities in the financial sector that the Netherlands offers, especially post Brexit.

He said the country is hardselling Amsterdam to the financial sector which would allow FIs to continue with their "financial passport" to carry out business as usual across the European Union following Brexit.

The Netherlands has expressed interest in collaborating with Indian companies for high-end technology in several areas including smart cities and shipping.