Forex counter at airport to go private

By T. S. Shankar

CHENNAI, SEPT. 23. The 24-hour money exchange counters operated by the State Bank of India at the Anna International and Kamaraj domestic terminals are being replaced with a facility to be run in the private sector.

The two airports together handle an annual business volume of Rs. 100 crores by way of forex sales and purchase, besides customs duty of Rs. 35 crores and regular banking business worth Rs. 18 crores.

The licence has now been awarded to T.T. Forex Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Finance and American Express. Mr. T. T. Vasu, Director of the TTK Group of companies, said they had sold the forex division to American Express.

The SBI's airport forex operation started 42 years ago as a sub- office under the control of its Guindy branch, and has been functioning as a money exchange facility since the national and international air terminals were opened in the eighties.

Confirming that the forex counter will change hands, its Chief General Manager, Mr. B. Ramachandra Rao, said the bank had written to the AAI Chairman, New Delhi, to reconsider the decision.

The bank has also approached the Civil Aviation Ministry, taking into account its long association with the airports.

Apart from current and savings bank accounts, the counters handle receipt of customs duty, airport tax and excess baggage collection, foreign exchange, and issue and payment of travellers cheques, purchase and sale of all foreign currencies and credit card payments.

Mr. P. K. S. Menon, Deputy General Manager, SBI, Zonal Office, said that among the 2,000-odd beneficiaries of the SBI service were employees of the national and international airports division of the AAI, Air India, Indian Airlines, other overseas airlines, besides corporate clients connected with the airport operations.

When contacted, the Deputy Airport Director, Mr. J. C. V. Tamhane, and the Senior Commercial Manager, Mr. N. Jayakumar, said keeping in line with the policy of AAI in consonance with the Union Finance Ministry's liberalised policy on foreign exchange, an open tender was called for in which the SBI, Thomas Cook, and T.T. Forex Limited participated and the best bid was accepted.

The notice asking SBI to vacate, served by the senior commercial manager of AAI's international airports division, states that ``licence for operation of money exchange counter(s) at Chennai airport under SBI was regularised and extended on a temporary basis upto September 30, 2000 or till such time a decision on tender invited by the AAI for grant of licence for providing money exchange facility at Chennai airport is taken, whichever is earlier''.

The SBI would now do only collection of customs duty and other statutory Government licences through its allotted counters in the customs arrival hall.

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