Finance routed through GIFT City India reduces funding costs for Bekaert
Published: Feb 2026
Best Funding Solution
Highly Commended Winner
Bekaert Industries Private Limited
Photo of Devendra Mishra, Bekaert Industries Private Limited.
Devendra Mishra
Finance Director – India
Bekaert is a world market and technology leader in steel wire transformation and coatings. Founded and headquartered in 1880 in Belgium (Europe) with customers in over 120 countries and in all markets and sectors with 27,000 employees worldwide and combined sales in 2023 of €4.0bn.
The challenge
Facing increasing competition and the risk of import substitution in India’s growing tyre cord market, Bekaert needed a strategic expansion to secure its leadership position. While holding a dominant 49% market share as the sole local producer, Bekaert’s advantage was under threat from emerging domestic players benefitting from government ‘Make in India’ initiatives and efforts to reduce dependence on Chinese imports.
To mitigate these risks and meet rising local demand, Bekaert projected a €55m expansion plan to increase production capacity. The investment would have added 30,000 tonnes of wire cords capacity, strengthening Bekaert’s supply capability, maintaining market leadership, preserving pricing power and enabling the company to fully capitalise on the anticipated market growth.
The solution
In line with Bekaert’s strategic priority to expand its manufacturing capacity in India, Citi partnered with the company to deliver an innovative, cost-effective capex financing solution. The €55m financing was structured as:
€30m parent ECB, with Citi as authorised dealer.
€25m bank borrowing, backed by BASEL eligible parent guarantee from NV Bekaert S.A. and further supported by an unconditional BASEL eligible guarantee from Belgian export credit agency (ECA), Credendo.
Recognising Bekaert’s Belgian parentage and its India-bound capex requirement, Citi brought this innovative idea to Credendo and convinced them to support this structure. The bank financing had a door-to-door tenor of six years and was disbursed through Citi India’s GIFT City branch.
The financing achieved US$300,000 in annual cost savings by routing disbursal through GIFT City, eliminating withholding tax. The arrangement leveraged Credendo’s BASEL eligible guarantee to mitigate political and commercial risks, provide capital relief and lower the bank’s funding cost. This was the first such transaction from Citi India’s GIFT City branch and was only the second transaction for the bank’s Global Subsidiaries Group in India backed by an ECA, showcasing the vast untapped potential for future strategic financing solutions for multinationals. The solution has positioned Bekaert to align its capex strategy with India’s evolving regulatory and financial ecosystem.
JSA Legal and Norton Rose provided advice on the arrangements.
“Winning the Adam Smith Award Asia is a proud and inspiring milestone for me and for Bekaert India. Delivering a first-of-its-kind funding solution through Gift City has positioned India as a catalyst for treasury innovation within our global organisation. It demonstrates how ideas originating from India can create global impact and set new benchmarks in financial excellence.
This recognition reinforces my belief that finance is not just about compliance – it is a strategic engine that unlocks value, accelerates growth and enhances competitiveness. I am sincerely grateful to Citi for their exceptional partnership in pioneering this breakthrough and to Treasury Today for honouring our achievement on such a prestigious platform.
This award motivates me to continue driving innovation, empowering teams, and leading transformative treasury solutions that shape the future of finance for our organisation and the wider industry.”
Devendra Mishra, Finance Director – India
Best practice and innovation
Over the past five years, multinational subsidiaries have significantly increased their capex investments in India, driven by rising domestic demand, localisation policies and Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes. Funding these expansions efficiently has become a major requirement. This partnership demonstrates the adoption of an innovative financing structure leveraging guarantees backed by external credit agencies (ECAs) like Credendo.
Such structures reduce bank credit risk allowing for long-term lending of more than five years, enabling banks to offer more competitive pricing while generating attractive returns on capital deployed as well as on return on equity.
Routing financing through Citi’s GIFT City branch eliminated with holding tax, resulting in substantial cost savings for Bekaert.
The bank, with the help of Credendo, was able to structure the financing at more competitive rates for longer tenor, benefiting both the bank and Bekaert. Overall, this approach aligned the company’s expansion goals with bank profitability, while supporting India’s localisation and manufacturing growth agenda.
Key benefits
Cost savings.
Return on investment.
Errors reduced.
Future-proof solution.
“What stood out was not just the innovative structure delivered, but the way the bank partnered with us every step of the way – from design to execution. By leveraging Citi’s GIFT City branch and an ECA-backed mechanism, we were able to significantly lower our cost of funds, eliminate withholding tax, and align the financing structure with both our global and local strategic priorities. This wasn’t just a funding arrangement – it was a strategic partnership. We now view this as a model structure – scalable, future-ready and completely aligned with our business goals,” says Devendra Mishra, Finance Director – India.
The Adam Smith Awards Asia are the industry benchmark for best practice and innovation in corporate treasury. To find out more please visit treasurytoday.com/adam-smith-awards-asia
