PUNE: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday called upon banks and financial institutions with strong balance sheets to step up lending for public infrastructure, industry and the MSME sector.Addressing the Foundation Day event of Bank of Maharashtra, Sitharaman highlighted the critical role of banks amid growing global uncertainty. “The global environment has become increasingly unpredictable. The extent to which countries are affected depends on their exposure to these shocks and how well-prepared they are.”FM said despite the turbulence in the global economy, India showed resilience, supported by strong economic fundamentals and improved sovereign ratings from international agencies. She emphasised that India’s robust response to global challenges was not coincidental but driven by solid domestic demand and the inherent strength of its economy.Sitharaman also stressed the need for public sector banks to maintain professional management and a customer-centric approach. “Every complaint must be seen as an opportunity to improve, innovate and reinforce trust in the minds of the customers. Grievance redressal must go hand in hand with root cause analysis, systemic corrections in products, processes and conduct, besides a commitment to ensure the complaints do not recur.”At the event, department of financial services secretary M Nagaraju said the credit extended by banks to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) would aid in their expansion, helping them cope with financial stress in distressed sectors. “Govt has been laying great emphasis on providing more capital to MSMEs. But banks should also provide more capital to the MSMEs, both for expansion and recovery from stress, if there is any,” he said.

LG Electronics India is reportedly preparing to launch its initial public offering in the week beginning October 6 to raise around Rs 11500 crore ($1.3 billion), a significant cut from its earlier expected valuation of $15 billion, Bloomberg reported citing sources familiar with the matter.The South Korean electronics giant secured regulatory approval for its updated draft red herring prospectus on Thursday and is expected to file the final version early next week, sources told Bloomberg. The revised valuation places the company at roughly $9 billion, down from the earlier projection when the IPO papers were first filed in December.Third billion-dollar IPO this yearThis would mark the third billion-dollar IPO after HDB Financial Services and Hexaware Technologies in a year that has already seen over $10 billion raised through new issues.If completed as planned, LG Electronics India’s share sale will be the third billion-dollar IPO in a year that has already seen more than $10 billion raised through new offerings, Bloomberg noted. The company first filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India last December to sell a 15% stake, or 101.8 million shares. Approval was granted in March, but the IPO was deferred due to market volatility, which had reduced its valuation to $10.5–$11.5 billion.Separately, LG Electronics India said it will invest about $600 million over the next four years to set up a third manufacturing plant in Andhra Pradesh, reinforcing its expansion in the Indian market, Bloomberg reported. Discussions on the size and timing of the IPO are ongoing and could change.Axis Bank and the Indian units of Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co, BofA Securities Inc., and Citigroup Inc. are advising LG Electronics India on the share sale, according to Bloomberg. A company representative did not immediately respond to Bloomberg’s requests for comment.