|
Business News
| Latest
| Archives
|
Rana Talwar,
Temasek to set up mutual fund
Khozem Merchant / Mumbai June 14, 2005
www.business-standard.com
Sabre Capital,
the investment group set up by ex-Standard Chartered bank
boss Rana Talwar, and Singapore's Temasek investment agency,
plan to ride the strong cycle in Indian equities with
the joint launch of a mutual fund.
The new asset management company will become the latest
foreign-owned mutual fund to tap into India's $37bn fund
management sector, following the entry this year of Fidelity,
the US money manager.
India's main stock market index is hovering at record
highs while managed products have been vibrant, notably
equity funds.
In May, inflows into equity funds totaled Rs30.7bn, the
third strong month in a row. Total inflows for the year
to date have swelled to Rs60bn, just short of the full
number for the financial year ending in March 2005, according
to a research note from JM Morgan Stanley in Mumbai.
The Sabre-Temasek fund hopes to start operations later
this year and is optimistic of building up its managed
assets to $5bn within 3-5 years, says an executive familiar
with the fund's application, currently with regulator.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India, the industry
watchdog, effectively forced Sabre to abandon its last
attempt to enter the asset management business in India.
Sabre quietly abandoned plans for a fund in India after
the investment manager it proposed to lead the venture,
Samir Arora, a leading money manager based in Singapore,
was charged with financial irregularities.
Mr Arora was later cleared on appeal and is now considering
setting up an offshore investment vehicle focused on India.
For Sabre and Temasek, the development represents a deepening
of their presence in India. Temasek has emerged in a short
period of time as one of the most aggressive private equity
investors in India, acquiring stakes in ICICI bank and
a call centre among others.
Mr Talwar, a director of Pearson, which owns the Financial
Times, launched Sabre in India with the acquisition, along
with allies including Bank of Muscat, of a controlling
stake in Centurion Bank in Mumbai.
The Sabre-Temasek fund will focus on domestic institutional
business in areas such as pensions and insurance; establish
a national distribution network to sell to small investors;
and combine the global brand standing of the two partners
to attract the large offshore funds flowing India's way.
India's vibrant mutual fund industry is not only expanding
but consolidation. HDFC, part of the domestic banking
group, recently bought the assets of the departing Zurich
asset management fund, closing the gap with the country's
largest private sector fund, Prudential ICICI.
Additionally, Societe Generale, the French financial services
group, has recently picked up a stake in the mutual fund
affiliate of State Bank of India, the largest banking
organisation in the country.
Top |
|
