Caterpillar Announces Program to Offer Product Financing Options to Customers in India

DELHI, India, Nov. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its commitment to enhance customer support, Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) subsidiary Caterpillar India Private Limited announced today it has entered into agreements with its dealers in India and with key banks and Non Banking Financial Company's (NBFC's). The collaboration agreements will give customers in India new finance options for the purchase of Caterpillar machinery and power systems, which are being used to fuel growth and a wide range of development in India.  

Caterpillar India and Indian Cat dealers GMMCO and TIPL have entered into agreements with the following key infrastructure focused banks – ICICI, HDFC Bank,  NBFC's [Non Banking Finance Company] Tata Capital Services and Magma to support the sale of the full range of Caterpillar products sold in India.

"We are very pleased to have facilitated Caterpillar India's alliances with these leading banks and NBFC's in India," said Kent Adams, Caterpillar vice president with responsibility for Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation.  

Caterpillar India and its dealers have signed Memorandums of Understanding with ICICI, HDFC Bank, Tata Capital and Magma whereby the Caterpillar dealers would apprise prospective Caterpillar customers about the financial solutions and loan advantages being offered by the Preferred Financiers to customers acquiring Caterpillar machinery and engines.  

"This is another step that Caterpillar is taking to deepen its support of our customers in India," said Kevin Thieneman, Managing Director – Caterpillar Asia. "This program recognizes the unique demands of the marketplace in India, and will be tailored to give our customers the level of financing support they would expect from Caterpillar, the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives."  

The Preferred Financiers will collaborate with Caterpillar India and its dealers to offer enhanced quote and credit approval turnaround, allied with competitive financial solutions to Caterpillar customers. This tie up will cover all eight dealer territories and benefit from the extensive network and coverage these selected Preferred Financiers provide across India.

About Caterpillar:

For more than 85 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making progress possible and driving positive and sustainable change on every continent.  With 2009 sales and revenues of $32.396 billion, Caterpillar is the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives.  The company also is a leading services provider through Caterpillar Financial Services, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services, Caterpillar Logistics Services and Progress Rail Services.  More information is available at:  http://www.cat.com.

About TIPL:

TIPL is the exclusive dealer for Caterpillar products [construction, mining equipment, engines and genset packages] in North and East India, Bhutan and Nepal.

About GMMCO:

GMMCO is Caterpillar's exclusive dealer for the South, West and Central part of India.

About ICICI Bank:

ICICI Bank Limited (NYSE: IBN) is India's largest private sector bank and the second largest commercial bank in the country, with consolidated total assets of over $100 billion as at June 30, 2010. ICICI Bank's subsidiaries include: India's leading private sector insurance companies in both life and non-life segments; one of the largest securities and brokerage firms; leading asset management company and private equity firm. ICICI Bank's global footprint currently spans across 18 countries.

ICICI Bank has been playing a pivotal role in the Construction Equipment Loan Business in India. ICICI Bank offers banking solutions for the infrastructure segment, loan and refinancing products for new as well as used construction equipment.

About HDFC Bank:

HDFC Bank is one of the premier banks in India with a network of over 1,700 branches and over 4,400 ATMs spread in around 800 cities across the country. HDFC Bank is the Leader in Construction Equipment Finance and offers Complete Banking Solution to Construction Equipment Customers. The features of the Loans are Reduced Down payment, Attractive Interest Rates and Customised EMI. Further details on HDFC BANK may be obtained from: http://www.hdfcbank.com/common/pdf/Investor_Presentation.pdf

About Tata Capital Services:

Tata Capital Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons Ltd. and a major endeavor of the Tata group in financial services sector. A trusted and customer-centric, one-stop financial services provider, Tata Capital Limited caters to the diverse needs of retail, corporate and institutional customers, through its subsidiaries across various areas of business namely the Infrastructure Finance, Commercial Finance, Investment Banking, Private Equity, Securities, Wealth Management, Consumer Loans, Cards and Travel Related Services. With a steep book growth and its omnipresence across India, Tata Capital's Infrastructure finance division is among top players in construction equipment finance and an emerging leader in entire Infrastructure finance industry.

About Magma Fincorp Limited:

Magma Fincorp Limited ("Magma") is a non-deposit taking non-banking finance company (NBFC), registered with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as an Asset Finance Company. The Company, having started operations over two decades back, is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange Limited and the National Stock Exchange in India.

Magma provides a bouquet of financial products including financing of Utility Vehicles & Cars, Commercial Vehicles, Construction Equipments, Tractors and SME Loans. Magma has a dedicated base of over 2.31 lac customers and has assets of approximately INR 9,800 crores under management. The company has 170 branches in 20 states and 1 union territory and employs over 4,800 people. www.magma.co.in

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release relate to future events and expectations and, as such, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These statements are subject to known and unknown factors that may cause actual results of Caterpillar Inc. to be different from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Words such as "believe," "estimate," "will be," "will," "would," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "project," "intend," "could," "should" or other similar words or expressions often identify forward-looking statements.  All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding our outlook, projections, forecasts or trend descriptions. These statements do not guarantee future performance, and Caterpillar does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements.

It is important to note that actual results of the company may differ materially from those described or implied in such forward-looking statements based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to: (i) economic volatility in the global economy generally and in capital and credit markets; (ii) Caterpillar's ability to generate cash from operations, secure external funding for operations and manage liquidity needs; (iii) adverse changes in the economic conditions of the industries or markets Caterpillar serves; (iv) government regulations or policies, including those affecting interest rates, liquidity, access to capital and government spending on infrastructure development; (v) commodity price increases and/or limited availability of raw materials and component products, including steel; (vi) compliance costs associated with environmental laws and regulations; (vii) Caterpillar's and Cat Financial's ability to maintain their respective credit ratings, material increases in either company's cost of borrowing or an inability of either company to access capital markets; (viii) financial condition and credit worthiness of Cat Financial's customers; (ix) material adverse changes in our customers' access to liquidity and capital; (x) market acceptance of Caterpillar's products and services; (xi) effects of changes in the competitive environment, which may include decreased market share, lack of acceptance of price increases, and/or negative changes to our geographic and product mix of sales; (xii) Caterpillar's ability to successfully implement Caterpillar Production System or other productivity initiatives; (xiii) international trade and investment policies, such as import quotas, capital controls or tariffs; (xiv) failure of Caterpillar or Cat Financial to comply with financial covenants in their respective credit facilities; (xv) adverse changes in sourcing practices for our dealers or original equipment manufacturers; (xvi) additional tax expense or exposure; (xvii) political and economic risks associated with our global operations, including changes in laws, regulations or government policies, currency restrictions, restrictions on repatriation of earnings, burdensome tariffs or quotas, national and international conflict, including terrorist acts and political and economic instability or civil unrest in the countries in which Caterpillar operates; (xviii) currency fluctuations, particularly increases and decreases in the U.S. dollar against other currencies; (xix) increased payment obligations under our pension plans; (xx) inability to successfully integrate and realize expected benefits from acquisitions; (xxi) significant legal proceedings, claims, lawsuits or investigations; (xxii) imposition of significant costs or restrictions due to the enactment and implementation of health care reform legislation and proposed financial regulation legislation; (xxiii) changes in accounting standards or adoption of new accounting standards;  (xxiv) adverse effects of natural disasters; and (xxv) other factors described in more detail under "Item 1A.  Risk Factors" in Part I of our Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 19, 2010 for the year ended December 31, 2009 and in Part II of our Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on May 3, 2010 for the quarter ended March 31, 2010.  These filings are available on our website at www.cat.com/sec_filings.

SOURCE Caterpillar Inc.