New York, Mar 1: The chief executive of ICICI Bank Ltd, India`s biggest private-sector bank, said on Friday he did not expect the country`s central bank to ease interest rates soon.

"The policymakers have concentrated on inflation as the key target," Chief Executive K V Kamath said in an interview at the New York Stock Exchange, where the bank is also listed.

"Given their signals in terms of what`s happening around us, I can`t see them easing at this point in time," said Kamath, who was in New York to open the bank`s first US branch. "Inflation watch is called for."

India`s inflation rate, which in late October was below 3 percent, began inching up in recent weeks due to rising food prices.

Data on Friday showed annual wholesale price inflation in mid-February jumped to an eight-month high of 4.89 percent.

To combat inflationary pressures, the central bank kept the short-term lending rate steady at 7.75 percent in the quarterly policy review last month, but said commercial banks could lower their rates.

Some banks have since cut interest rates. Government-run State Bank of India, the country`s biggest lender, lowered its rates twice this month.

But Kamath said ICICI, which with assets of about USD115 billion is India`s second-largest bank, would wait and watch.

"Till we have clear signals, we will keep rates steady," Kamath said. "It would need to be a brave person to cut rates in the last quarter of the year."

"As of now I can`t see an easing despite liquidity conditions remaining easy," he said.

Kamath said the liquidity conditions in India allowed for companies there to find money to fund growth, but the turmoil in international credit markets would affect their global aspirations.

"Demand from India -- for global acquisitions and global moves by Indian companies -- remains strong," Kamath said. "But whatever happens out of India will have to be tempered by the ability to access money globally."

ICICI raised USD6.7 billion in international bond markets in 2007 and aims to raise a similar amount this year for purposes such as financing the global expansion plans of Indian businesses. But Kamath said it had not borrowed internationally this year as it waited for market conditions to improve.

"We are not in a hurry," Kamath said. "The global situation ... should ease in the next six months or so."

Kamath also said the bank`s plan to list ICICI Securities, its investment banking and broking unit, was still on track despite market turmoil. ICICI Bank announced plans last month to sell up to 15 percent of the unit, which is the country`s largest online player in retail broking.

Kamath declined to comment on the merits of a move this week by rival HDFC Bank to buy smaller Centurion Bank of Punjab for USD2.4 billion in shares.

The merger would create a bank with 1,148 branches, surpassing ICICI`s 955 branches, although the combined loan book of about 870 billion rupees would be far smaller than ICICI`s 2.2 trillion rupees.

Kamath said ICICI did not have any acquisitions planned.

ICICI Bank opens first branch in US

ICICI Bank, India's largest private sector bank, has opened its first branch in the United States at posh midtown New York. Under the licence granted by regulators here, the bank would initially provide services to corporate customers, but it aims to go into general retail banking also. Talking to PTI, Executive Director Sonjoy Chatterjee said that at present the bank is authorised to do retail business for Indians who come to the United States on work H1B visa. The bank, he said, would offer package facilities to them. For example, they could be given credit card and cheque book before they leave for the US to enable them to do business from the day of their arrival. Asked whether Indians on other visas too could avail of the facility, Chatterjee said only and specifically H1B visa is mentioned in the licence. The bank would offer a suite of banking services including working capital, acquisition finance, trade services and treasury solution to corporates and savings products to qualified individuals.