ADAG to seek licence for foray into banking space,says Anil

Reliance Capital also plans to list Reliance Life Insurance on the bourses next year depending on regulatory approvals. The proposed IPO,according to the younger Ambani,would hit the capital market in 2011. Insurance regulator IRDA is currently understood to be at an advanced stage of finalising guidelines for the listing of life insurers.

The company is also mulling a bonus issue to celebrate it’s silver jubilee scheduled next year. In response to shareholders’ queries,Ambani said,“We may announce a liberal bonus issue next year for our esteemed shareholders.”

Ambani observed,“Five years ago,Reliance Capital was a small asset management company,which also doubled up as the investment arm of the unified Reliance group. Today,we are a diversified,full-spectrum financial services company,with assets under management of nearly Rs 1,50,000 crore. We are also a leading player in each of our businesses. Remarkably,while many of the ‘giants’ of India’s financial services market have grown on the back of tie-ups with large foreign partners,our growth is totally organic and made in India.”

Ambani told shareholders that the group entered the exchanges business in late 2009 and started a spot exchange. “We also have a 26 per cent stake in a commodities exchange and believe there is immense growth potential in this space. So we plan to have a presence across all segments of the exchange business in India,” the chairman observed. According to Ambani,Reliance Capital will leverage the domain expertise of ADAG group to offer customised financing solutions to vendors,suppliers and contractors,with targeted return on equity of 18-20 per cent.