LICHFL seeks partner for VC fund, to launch by end-Sept

Mortgage lender, LIC Housing Finance, is looking at roping in a partner for its Rs 500-crore real estate venture capital fund which it plans to launch by end-September, a top company official said.     

"We are in the process of selecting a partner for our real estate venture capital fund. This will be completed in a month's time and by end-September, we will launch it," LIC Housing Finance (LICHFL) Director and Chief Executive, R R Nair, told PTI here.    

The partner would be an Indian company, he said, without, however, disclosing the identities of the partners the company was in talks with.      

"Since we will be catering to the domestic market, we are looking for an Indian partner," Nair said.     

LIC Housing Finance's parent company and the country's largest life insurer, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), would also be one of the partners, he said.     

"The initial corpus of the venture capital fund would be Rs 500-crore," Nair said.     

LIC Housing Finance has set-up a stand-alone company for the fund, he said.     

LICHFL is presently in the process of fine-tuning the business model of the venture capital fund and it would invest in various projects which would be decided by its Board, Nair said.