Mahindra Finance expects to enter mutual fund biz by Mar 2011

Mahindra Finance, the financial services arm of auto major Mahindra and Mahindra, today said it expects regulatory approval for entering into the asset management business during the fiscal.

"We have applied for asset management company and we hope to get SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) approval during the year," Mahindra Finance Managing Director Ramesh Iyer told PTI.

Following the approval, the company would launch mutual fund schemes, he said.

The company is planning to go on its own, he said, adding that for setting up the business, the company will hire specialised people with domain knowledge.

Currently, there are 39 mutual fund players in the country with total average assets under management of more than Rs 6.75 lakh crore at the end of June.

The total average assets under management of the 39 fund houses in the country plunged by Rs 1.27 lakh crore, or 16 per cent, in June.

Mahindra Finance, a non-banking finance company, is into vehicle finance, insurance brokerage, rural housing finance and refinance of old vehicles.

At present, the company has a network of 487 offices spread across the country, which will touch 500 by the end of September this year, Iyer said.

Meanwhile, Mahindra Finance recorded 85 per cent jump in net profit for the first quarter ended June 30 to Rs 80 crore compared to Rs 43.13 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

The company also reported a growth of 23.51 per cent in income from operations during the first quarter to Rs 404.46 crore, as against Rs 327.48 crore in the year-ago period.

The company's gross disbursement registered a growth of 76 per cent to Rs 2,854 crore at the end of June 30, compared to Rs 1,617 crore in the same period of the previous year.

The company maintained its quality of assets through continued focus on NPA reduction, coupled with buoyant rural cash flow, Iyer said.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/banking/finance/finance/Mahindra-Finance-expects-to-enter-mutual-fund-biz-by-Mar-2011/articleshow/6216024.cms