Financial services major Reliance Capital is firing on all cylinders as it transforms itself into a financial powerhouse with a core investment company structure. In line with the Reserve Bank of India’s mandate for financial services, Reliance Capital is now working towards bringing all its operating businesses as wholly-owned or majority-owned subsidiaries. Sam Ghosh, Executive Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of Reliance Capital, shares with BusinessLine the strategic plan across its entire gamut of financial services in the coming fiscal. After tasting success by roping in Nippon Life as strategic partner — at 49 per cent — in both asset management and life insurance business, Reliance Capital will, in 2016-17, look for similar deals in both general insurance and commercial finance businesses. It has also not given up on efforts to become a universal bank and plans to go in for a banking licence once the banking regulator RBI allows banking licences on tap in 2016-17. Excerpts:

Recently, you announced that commercial finance business will be hived off into a subsidiary? Will you look at bringing in a strategic partner for this business as well?

Yes, we will look at bringing in a strategic partner at 49 per cent level. Before that we need court approval for the demerger into a subsidiary. This could happen in September and the whole scheme taking effect from April1.

What is the plan for the general insurance sector?

In general insurance we already are operating as a wholly owned subsidiary. We should be able to bring a strategic partner in 2016-17 and looking at 49 per cent level. We will retain 51 per cent and look to grow the business in the next couple of years.

How about Reliance Housing Finance? Has any Initial Public Offering been planned?

Our focus in the next two years will be to grow the assets under management to ₹20,000 crore and then we will decide on either IPO or strategic investor.

What kind of opportunities will the GIFT city in Gujarat throw up for you?

Our asset management company has already applied to SEBI to start an alternative investment fund (AIF) at GIFT city. We are also looking to have our commodities business there. To start with, these will be the two areas for us there. We have our international operations in Singapore and we can also bring this to Gift City. You are getting all the benefits of an offshore location closer home. There are tax breaks too. In the financial services, we will be amongst the first few to move into GIFT city.

How do you plan to grow your asset reconstruction business?

This is a new business we are setting. It is focused on SME and retail. We only buy retail pools of assets. Its only about ₹1,500-crore Assets Under Management. We are not in the corporate side. We will eventually get into the corporate side, but first we want to build the retail side.

In ARC, to grow further we need to put in more capital. So we are now looking at a rights issue of about ₹100 crore. The recent Budget announcement will help. Our holding is now at 49 per cent and we can now technically go up beyond 49 per cent to 100 per cent

What about the Indian Commodity Exchange?

For the Indian Commodity Exchange, we are planning a rights issue in the next six months. We own 26 per cent. We can’t go beyond 26 per cent. Commodity is becoming a big area and the regulator SEBI is also looking to give a push to commodity derivatives in the country.

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