"We are closely looking at allied services along with our core strength of credit rating. The plan is to set up strategic business units for information services and advisory services. We will consider spinning off these units into subsidiaries at a later stage," CARE managing director A Lahiri toldThe Financial Express. The new managing director of the rating agency has identified infrastructure as the new thrust area for CARE.

Lahiri said that a number of enquiries were being received from different parties on the infrastructure sector like roads and ports besides power and telecom. "The infrastructure sector will open up a host of opportunities for the organisation. We are in the process of setting up information and advisoryservices," Lahiri said.

The rating agency will also identify a foreign equity partner during the current year and has already held talks with Fitch Ibca, Moody's and Thompson Bankwatch. "We will identify a foreign equity partner during the current year who will be offered a minority stake in CARE," Lahiri said.

CARE, which was a late entrant in the credit rating business, rated a total of 207 instruments during 1997-98 amounting to Rs 36,389 crore. This was against the 266 instruments rated in 1996-97 amounting to Rs 19,749 crore.

In 1997-98, though there was a decline of 20 per cent in the number of new assignments completed, there was an increase of over 80 per cent in the value of debt rated. During the year, the Divestment Commission set up by the Government of India retained CARE's services for assisting them in studying selected PSUs which have been identified as possible candidates for divestment.

CARE also launched a new product, "Care Loan Ratings," for rating term loans. The rating agencyexpects the product to be of use to banks and institutional lenders for rating of specific loans compared with the conventional security rating.