The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Group said it was looking closely in listing its insurance business on stock markets apart from entering the commercial banking industry in the near term.
‘Reliance Life was the first Indian insurance company to announce its plans for listing in 2009. The insurance regulator is currently at an advanced stage of finalising the guidelines for listing of life insurance companies,’ Anil Ambani said.
‘Once this is done, we will explore the possibility of creating value for our investors by listing our life insurance business,’ he told the annual general meeting of Reliance Capital here.
The group chairman said Reliance Capital was also studying the revised guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India for the grant of a banking license, with a number of different options on issues such as conversion, promotion and acquisition.
‘We have always regarded banking as a high priority and a huge potential opportunity, and are evaluating the different options contained in the guidelines,’ Ambani said.
Recalling the short, yet momentous journey of Reliance Capital, he said from a small asset management firm five years ago, the company had grown into a full-spectrum financial services powerhouse with nearly Rs.150,000 crore ($33 billion) assets under management.
‘We are also a leading player in each of our businesses,’ he said, adding: ‘Remarkably, while many of the giants of India’s financial services market have grown on the back of tie-ups with larger foreign partners, our growth is totally organic and made in India!’
Ambani also spelt out his plans in some other areas and said an entry had already been made into the spot exchange business and had a 26-percent stake in a commodities exchange.
‘We believe there is immense growth potential in this space and plan to have a presence across all segments of the exchange business in India.’
