Reliance Capital, an arm of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, will invest Rs.40 billion ($860 million) for business expansion, with a focus on the non-banking finance and insurance sectors, the company's top official announced here Tuesday.
Reliance Capital will set up a separate housing financial subsidiary and non-banking financial company (NBFC) for the consumer finance sector, said chairman Anil Ambani during the company's annual general meeting.
"Going forward, we plan to set up a separate housing finance subsidiary and NBFC for the consumer finance business," he said.
"We have already filed applications with the regulators in this respect and are awaiting approval," Ambani said.
Of the Rs.40 billion to be invested over the next three to five years, Rs.20 billion will be in the insurance sector, he said.
Ambani said his company is also planning to selectively expand its asset management, life insurance and broking operations in emerging markets across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
"Together, these investments and initiatives will further accelerate our growth momentum and lead to substantial value creation," Ambani added.
"As a part of the future growth plan, the company will invest Rs.20 billion ($454 million) in our insurance businesses, taking our cumulative investment to over Rs.4,000 crore, or nearly a billion dollars," Ambani said.
"We aspire to be among the top three private sector life insurance companies in the country," Ambani said.
"In the past three years, we have ramped up our distribution network from 78 to 750 branches. We expect to more than double this number to reach a target of 1,800 branches by the end of this year. Our agency force has reached 200,000 -- a 10-fold increase in the past three years," Ambani said.
He also added that the company is planning to enter the banking sector "as and when the regulatory environment permits".