Bajaj Finserv Ltd, a Bajaj group company, and Allianz Global Investors have signed an agreement to set up an asset management company (AMC).
The AMC, tentatively named Bajaj Allianz Global Investors, will be set up after getting the necessary clearances from the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
“Hopefully, we should get the approval in the next 6-10 months and commence operations within a year,” said Mr Rahul Bajaj, Chairman of Bajaj Finserv.
Allianz Global Investors will hold a 51 per cent stake, while Bajaj Finserv will hold a 49 per cent stake in the AMC.
The AMC will have a paid-up capital of Rs 10 crore, Mr Bajaj said.
Both the stakeholders will have to approach SEBI individually for approval to be the sponsors of the AMC. Once the approval is received, the two companies will jointly apply for the AMC licence from SEBI.
Initially, the AMC would invest with domestic funds only, said Mr Joachim Faber, Member of the board of management of Allianz SE.
When asked about the timing of the joint venture, Mr Bajaj said: “We would rather buy stocks when the Sensex is at 11,000 than when it is at 22,000.”
Yet to name CEO
The company has not identified the key personnel who will be leading the company. The Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer will be decided after both the companies get in principal approval from SEBI, said Mr Sanjeev Bajaj, Managing Director of Bajaj Finserv.
The AMC will try to leverage the distribution capabilities of Bajaj Finserv, which has around 1,000 branches.
The Allianz group has two joint ventures with Bajaj Finserv in India – Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company. In both these companies, the German group has a minority stake of 26 per cent, according to the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority guidelines.
“If the regulations on the FDI in the insurance sector are relaxed, we will consider increasing our stake,” said Mr Faber.
Source: The Hindu Businessline