EuroFinance

Speaking on the new Inspiration Stage at the 34th EuroFinance International Treasury Management in Budapest, Sandeep Chalke, General manager, corporate treasury at Tata Communications, a telecommunications service provider explained how a 14-member team based in Mumbai manages the full spectrum of treasury activities for more than 60 subsidiaries across 45 global markets, supported by automation, strong banking
partnerships and a long-term transformation roadmap.

Sandeep began by outlining the Tata Communications’ scale and evolution. Part of the Tata Group, the company has transformed from a wholesale voice and data carrier into a “digital ecosystem enabler ”, offering a robust Digital Fabric portfolio that includes IoT connectivity, managed security services, global internet transport, AI Clouds and data centres. Today, The Tata Communications is the “number one enterprise data carrier in the globe”, handling “roughly 35% of global Internet traffic”.

Sandeep added, this infrastructure supports mission-critical services such as Formula 1 broadcasting, where the company transmits 500 trillion bytes of race-track data within 200 milliseconds.

A centralised treasury model

Tata Communications operates efficient & advanced centralised corporate treasuries. “We are managing our treasury in a centralised mode… teams of 14 people sitting in Mumbai managing the whole treasury for 45+ regions and 60+ subsidiaries,” Sandeep explained. This structure covers global banking, cash and liquidity management, FX, borrowing, working capital, trade finance, insurance, reporting and compliance.

He noted that the model works effectively because the business is primarily B2B, and supported by global banks offering robust digital platforms which are accessible remotely. “COVID has taught us that we can deliver the business from any part of the world… but we have been doing this since before 2010,” he added.

Liquidity consolidation

Liquidity consolidation is driven by three long-established physical cash pools:

● Singapore (Asia)
● Amsterdam (Europe)
● New York (USD-denominated accounts worldwide)

This structure enables the treasury to use a “follow-the-sun method”, sweeping balances from Asia into Europe and on to the US. Subsidiaries located in markets such as the UK, Germany or France often maintain US-dollar accounts in New York to facilitate overnight concentration. Alongside this, the team manages exposure to more than 20 currencies, using natural hedging strategies wherever possible.

Also read: Innovation, inspiration and real-world case studies: Treasury’s insights from Budapest

Transformation 2.0: designed for an acquisition-driven future

Borrowings are coordinated through “two or three borrowing centres”, with liquidity distributed internally via intercompany loans. SAP’s in-house cash module plays a major role in automating these balances, while the treasury module supports the recording of FX, investments, borrowing and trade finance activity. This close synchronisation ensures accurate and timely financial reporting across all entities.

The first major transformation phase involved greenfield migrating from SAP ECC to S/4HANA. This enabled the treasury to bring manual processes—including reciprocal loans—into the ERP environment. Sandeep highlighted that “our entire accounting is automated”, covering intercompany loan postings, interest accruals and retrospective interest rate true-ups based transfer-pricing guidelines etc. The shift delivered 100% real-time visibility over global positions and eliminated multiple manual activities.

With the system stabilised, the company is now pursuing Transformation 2.0, shaped by an expanding M&A pipeline. Recent acquisitions across the US, France, Singapore and Italy have reinforced the need for rapid treasury control. “When you do any acquisition, the aim of the treasury is to take control of banking operations on day one… and have 100% visibility on day two,” Sandeep said.

The next phase focuses on:

● A single global banking platform
● Multi-bank real-time connectivity via APIs
● A move towards a multi-currency notional pool
● Smart customer reconciliation for 8,000+ clients
● API-based payment factories
● Exploratory blockchain use for secure data exchange

Moving forward with centralised multi currency notional pool in Europe

The centrepiece of Transformation 2.0 is to integrate three physical pools to one multi-currency notional pool, to be located in Amsterdam or London. This structure will consolidate balances across more than 16 currencies, moving funds from Asia, Europe and the US into a single notional bucket.

Although establishing this will involve about 200 bank accounts, Sandeep emphasised its strategic value, “This may sound too complex… but at the back end it is the simplest way to manage your liquidity.” Europe was chosen due to existing experience in running a physical pool there, making migration more straightforward.

Also read: EuroFinance Deep Dive: Resilience in liquidity planning

Towards a more automated, connected treasury

Beyond liquidity, Tata Communications is developing smart reconciliation capabilities for thousands of customers, prioritising data security by leveraging bank-provided tools rather than third-party processors. API-driven payment factories are also planned, as is the potential use of blockchain to enable customers to share payment-flow information securely—supporting more accurate cash-flow forecasting.

In the future, the treasury will continue to build on its centralised structure, deploying new technology-led capabilities to support the company’s global expansion. As Sandeep’s narrative showed, the transformation is not a project with an endpoint but a continuous evolution aligned with the organisation’s scale and ambition.

Also read: Allseas streamlines its Brazilian treasury operations with automation and flexibility