HSBC India has expanded its funding programme for local tech start-ups to $600 million, and the UK-based bank is bracing for strong growth in the sector, which will push more and more firms to opt for global exposure.

"We realised that a lot of the growth is going to be in the liquor market and there are 1700 identified names and how do you systematically go through them and ensure that you get the right ones. What suits us is often those who need our global expertise, "said Ajay Sharma, MD and head, commercial banking, HSBC India.

The funding commitment for tech start-ups started with a balance sheet allocation of $50 million in 2019, which was later increased to $250 million in 2022 and now $600 million. Of the current $600 million corpus, 50% has already been allocated, Sharma said. A key factor he cited was the government's investment in building India's digital infrastructure and the widespread availability of cheap data.

Giving a broad break-up of the segments covered in the current round of funding commitment, the senior HSBC executive listed segments such as B2B commerce, consumer technology - used car platforms - fintech, direct-to-consumer, agritech, logistics, electric vehicles, etc.

Talking about the funding freeze that the start-up sector has gone through in the last 18 months, Sharma said that HSBC's portfolio in the sector has not felt the pressure, adding that the bank is not aiming for equity funding but is focusing on providing working capital. With the percentage growth of mid-to-high teens in HSBC's SME (small and medium enterprises) portfolio, the bank aims to continue the growth trajectory of the tech start-up funding corpus in view of the macroeconomic environment.

"Our sweet spot with corporate India is when a company goes international. If it does cross-border imports and exports, it has FX requirements and we can focus on that because our transaction banking franchise is very large, "he said.