Financial sector in WB witnessing a boom

Despite battling with controversies due to its inept handling of land issues, the state of West Bengal (WB) has witnessed a robust growth in stock broking volumes of late. As per statistics provided by banks and stock brokers operating in the state, demand for financial products offered by various financial institutions and banks has gone up significantly in the recent past.

WB was once ranked second in terms of stock broking volumes in the country, with Maharashtra at the top of the table. But a spate of incidents with regard to industrialisation in the recent years has cost the state its position, losing the same to New Delhi and sliding to the third position. Pull-out of Tata Motor’s Nano plant from Singur to Gujarat and scrapping of the proposed IT Park in Rajarhat has dealt a severe blow to the industrial sector in the state, and the ripple effect of this has been felt by the financial sector as well.

“If the industrial scenario in any region is in turmoil, impact of the same is felt by other sectors as well. Even though WB has a high rural density, the land issues on the industrial front has negatively impacted other sectors too. Yet, the state’s financial sector has managed to overcome these problems to quite some extent and is presently witnessing growth,” said V Agarwal, CEO of Apex Enterprises, a small-sized sophisticated machineries supplying firm in Kolkata.

SMEs benefiting the most

The recent rise in demand of financial products in WB has particularly benefited the small and mid-sized companies in the state engaged in sale and promotion of financial products. “With the global economic scenario gradually improving, an increasing number of investors are now showing interest in buying financial products. This has helped small players like us to generate healthy revenues recently, which is also compensating for the losses we suffered during the global economic meltdown,” said Kishore Nihalani, director of Adelina Investments, a small-sized investment consultancy firm in Kolkata.

SMEs in the financial sector in WB are hoping that demand of financial products continue to increase in the coming days, which will expedite their process of recovering the losses incurred earlier.

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