Temasek Holdings pays Rs 10 billion for 5% stake in Au Small Finance Bank

Temasek Holdings, an investment vehicle owned by the Singapore government, has picked up five per cent stake in Jaipur–based AU Small Finance Bank for Rs 10 billion.
 
The capital is expected to support the bank’s organic business growth in the current financial year (FY19) and the next (FY20).
 
“This capital infusion will strengthen our presence in both the digital and the physical marketplace,” said Sanjay Agarwal, managing director and CEO of AU SFB, in a release.

 
The bank, in a statement, said this fund raised would allow it to remain sufficiently capitalised in the near-term, as it strives to achieve 30-35% growth per annum.
 
The shareholders of the bank gave their nod to the proposal for investment at the annual general meeting held last week. After the capital infusion, the foreign investment in AU SFB will be about 43.5 per cent. At present, the limit for foreign investment in a bank is capped at 49 per cent. Other investors in the bank include IFC, Warburg Pincus, Chrys Capital and Kedaara Capital.
 
The AU SFB stock closed at Rs 713.6 on the BSE on Monday.
 
Last year, its initial public offering for Rs 19.13 billion was a complete offer-for-sale with no infusion in the bank.
 
In FY18, the bank’s disbursements grew more than 60 per cent and assets under management rose by around 50 per cent.
 
In the previous fiscal, it had mobilised Rs 80 billion.