• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• Business Line
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Our Bureau

Kolkata , July 13

Standard Chartered Mutual Fund is denying that it is selling out to Temasek, the strategic investment outfit affiliated to the Government of Singapore. The latter is said to be in talks with the bank for a possible acquisition.

Sources close to the bank have strongly rejected the idea that the asset management arm is on sale, despite the buzz that has been apparently gaining ground in the market.

StanChart MF currently manages about Rs 9,550 crore, excluding fund of funds (as on June 30, 2006), through a clutch of schemes, most of which are debt-oriented.

Temasek, it was recently reported, is eyeing a buyout of an existing player in the Indian asset management space. Incidentally, it is already seen to be entering the funds business, courtesy a newly-promoted outfit branded as Lotus.

The fund house in question has been around for the past few years. It had started out as a pure debt player, devising funds that did not have any exposure to equities at all. Subsequently, however, it did foray into equity schemes; these now collectively account for roughly 30 per cent of its total assets under management.

It would neither be easy nor cheap to buy out the MF, if at all such a move is in the offing, sources pointed out, while referring to such earlier transactions as the one between HDFC MF and the erstwhile Zurich India MF.

Lotus India Asset Management is set up by Fullerton Fund Management group and Sabre Capital. Fullerton is a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, Singapore. Lotus India AMC is the fund advisor for Fullerton Sabre Lotus India Fund, Mauritius. Lotus is headed by Mr Ajay Bagga, CEO, who recently quit Kotak Mahindra MF.

More Stories on : Mutual Funds | Asset Management Companies

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
MAPE ties up with ADM Investor

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line