Indiabulls Financial gets SEBI's nod to set up Mutual Fund

NEW DELHI: Indiabulls Financial Services Ltd on Thursday said it has got approval from the market regulator SEBI to set up mutual fund business in the country.
    
"We have got approval from SEBI, and hopefully, the asset management business should be up and running in the next 3-4 months," an official of Indiabulls Financial Services Ltd (IBFSL) said.
    
It will take some time to put management and compliance unit in place, he said.
    
When asked about the first fund launch, he said the fund house would decide about the fund and structure and its maiden fund would hit the market in the next 3-4 months.
    
Currently, there are 33 mutual fund companies in the country.
    
Besides, the company also plans to enter into life insurance with Sogecap, a subsidiary of French bank Societe Generale.
    
In December last year, Indiabulls had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sogecap. As per the MoU, Societe Generale, through its life insurance company Sogecap, would own 26 per cent of the JV.
    
In order to fund expansion plan of financial services business, Indiabulls is also looking to raise about one billion dollars through bond offering or a hybrid instrument, which would include issuance of both equity and debentures.
    
Besides, the group has already decided to demerge its brokerage business Indiabulls Securities into a separate company, which it plans to list separately on the bourses very soon.