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UK-based
financial and real estate major, Dawnay Day International
Ltd (DDI), has got an in principle approval from the
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to set
up a mutual fund business in the
country.
DDI's
plans for India include, besides the mutual fund, a
retail stock broking business, a portfolio and wealth
management business and an India-dedicated fund for
investments in the domestic equity market. The group
also plans to invest $50 million initially -later going
up to $200 million — in the rapidly growing real
estate and hospitality sectors.
DDI
has tied up with Indian investment banker Alok Vajpeyi,
to set up Dawnay Day AV Financial Services, to manage
its operations in India. The new venture, which has
already got a portfolio management service licence from
SEBI, plans to have 20 retail outlets initially. It
already employs about 250 finance professionals and
has a presence in four cities.
DDI,
which already has a foreign institutional investor registration,
also plans to raise up to $100 million for an India-dedicated
fund. The new mutual fund aims to build up assets of
over Rs5,000 crore in about three years.
India's
buoyant mutual fund sector — with about 30 asset
management companies (AMCs) actively managing funds
— has attracted several international majors, but
many more have plans to set up mutual funds over the
coming months. About 15 more AMCs are expected to be
floated shortly.
Credit
Suisse group of Zurich, Rabobank and Aegon of the Netherlands
and AXA of France are the European financial majors
that plan to float mutual funds in India. Goldman Sachs
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