The Hindu Business Line : Parsoli to encourage more investment in precious metals

Market stake Parsoli set to have some 30 franchises across India by June 2007. Client base up from 750 to nearly 1,200 since December 2006.

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Ahmedabad March 2 India's only SEBI-approved and regulated Islamic investment, advisory and trading company, Parsoli Corporation Ltd, is all set to encourage the country's largest minority and Muslim institutions and Trusts to invest in the emerging areas such as commodity, gold and silver, its promoters have said.

For this purpose, the company, whose investors' conference here attracted some 1,500 investors in December 2006, is holding similar "Islamic Investment and Awareness Conferences" in Mumbai on March 10 and thereafter in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Delhi during this year, its Joint Managing Director, Mr Uves Sareshwala, and Chief Financial Officer, Mr Talha Sareshwala, told Business Line here.

Parsoli, a company listed in 1995 on BSE and then on NSE, has already applied for membership of Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) for trading and investments in commodities.

MCX membership

To focus on the new opportunities, the company's CEO and MD, Mr Zafar Sareshwala, has also relocated recently from London to Mumbai. There are thousands of mosques and other Muslim institutions and Trusts in India which can safely make their investments as per the Sharia law through Parsoli, they added.

Operating base

The trading company, currently having three franchises and corporate office in Ahmedabad, has also opened one branch each in Ahmedabad and Vadodara and is set have some 30 franchises across India by June this year, the Sareshwala brothers said.

The client-base of the company has increased from 750 to nearly 1,200 since December 2006 while about 10,000 to 15,000 viewers, mainly from West Asia, have hit its Web site from overseas. "Although our main target is to attract high net worth (HNW) Muslims and institutions, we would do a great deal even if we manage to bring to us 0.01 per cent of the 150 million Muslims in India as this business potential is huge."

Last year, Germany's Baader Bank took a 25 per cent stake in Parsoli, the Mumbai-based public limited company. Dr Uto Baader, Chairman, Baader Wertpapierhandelsbank AG, the largest securities trading firm in Germany, and President of Munich Stock Exchange, was here for the purpose. Now, they said, BNP Paribas was also in talks with Parsoli to evolve products to attract Muslim investments.

`Not about religion'

However, the Sareshwalas clarified that their company had little to do with Islam as a religion, and it was following only an ethical business model. Of the eight directors of the company, only three are Muslims. The non-Muslims directors include two Christians and three Hindus - Bollywood film personality Mr Mahesh Bhatt being one of them. They said 80 per cent of Indian companies fulfilled Islamic criteria wherein the Muslims could invest their money. "Like the Jains, even we don't invest in things like abattoirs".

Since Islamic institutions and Trusts cannot invest in stock market, Parsoli would advise them to invest in gold, silver and commodity markets. "We can give them the option of investing in gold. We would not go for futures and options nor for derivatives and focus on cash and delivery basis. There would be no liquidity problems either. It is a new, untapped market we are creating. Gold is as good as cash. Till now the Muslims had to give any interests accrued to, say, their safe deposits to charity. Now they can buy gold through the mutual fund route as their earnings would be price appreciation rather than interest."

The 1990-founded company earned a revenue of Rs 22 crore in the first three quarters of 2006-07 with a net profit of Rs 4.48 crore.

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