Anil Ambani sees exciting growth ahead in financial business

Plans to more than double its customer base in next 3-5 years

Industrialist Anil Ambani has said that his group's financial services arm Reliance Capital has drawn up "exciting growth plans" and it intends to more than double its customer base in the next 3-5 years.

The company also expects to benefit in its proposed banking foray through partnership with Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank and Nippon Life Insurance, Ambani said in his annual letter to shareholders as Chairman of Reliance Capital.

Reliance Capital is one of the 26 entities that have submitted their applications to RBI for banking licence.

"We intend to partner with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank and Nippon Life Insurance, two leading financial institutions from Japan in this (banking) endeavour," Ambani wrote.

"The foreign partners propose to take between 4-5% stake each in the proposed new bank, subject to necessary regulatory approvals.

"Both partners have vast experience in the financial services business in Asia, and we are extremely happy to partner with them for our proposed new bank," he said.

Charting out the growth plans for Reliance Capital, which is already present in a host of non-banking financial services businesses, Ambani said: "We have drawn up exciting growth plans for the next three to five years."

These plans include increase in Reliance Capital's customer base from 20 million to 50 million, expansion of distribution reach from 5,000 to 25,000 cities and towns and increase in the number of business partners from half a million to one million, he said.

"Together these initiatives will further accelerate our growth and lead to substantial value creation for all," Ambani said.

Reliance Capital chairman further said that the company made "good progress during the year 2012-13 towards improving operational performance and unlocking value in its businesses despite a challenging macro-economic environment".

"Today, our company is one of India's largest non-banking financial services company," he said, while adding that the Reliance Group as a whole "touches the life of one in every five Indians, every single day."

Besides financial services, Reliance group is present in businesses like telecom, power, infrastructure, media and entertainment.

Ambani further said that Reliance Capital's total income rose by 13%to Rs 7,519 crore in the last fiscal, while net profit grew by 77% to Rs 812 crore. Its total assets rose 15% to Rs 40,588 crore, while netwoth has grown by 3% to Rs 11,991 crore.