Bajaj Finserv gets SEBI approval for mutual fund business

MUMBAI: Bajaj FinServ, the financial services arm of Bajaj Group, has received approval from the capital markets regulator Sebi for setting up mutual fund business and is likely to enter the fray by end-2012, a top official said today.

"We have received the Sebi approval and are evaluating the right business model," the company's Managing Director Sanjiv Bajaj told reporters on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit of the World Economic Forum here.

He, however, said the company's consumer lending business may be hit going forward.

"Going ahead, it(consumer lending) will slow down. Consumer lending is the last one to be affected in a high rates cycle and I see some impact on the vertical," Bajaj said.

Bajaj FinServ's business plans continue to be "steady" even as fears of a slowdown are being expressed, he said.

"The market is large enough for us to find our attractive business," he said adding that a lot remains to be done on the inflation front.

Bajaj Finserv posted a more than two times rise in its net profit at Rs 158 crore in the second quarter of current fiscal on the back of sound rise in income in its general, and life insurance business among others.

Net profit during the July-September period of the company was at Rs 69 crore.

Total income during this period rose by 52 per cent to Rs 714 crore compared to Rs 471 crore reported an year ago period.