Manappuram General plans Rs 100 cr equity infusion

VP Nandakumar, chairman, said discussions with a leading foreign bank for equity participation was in the final stage. MAGFIL has targeted to increase its own fund to Rs 230 crore from the current Rs 130 crore in the current year. Last fiscal, the company received foreign equity of Rs 46.8 crore from Hudson Equity Holdings and Sequoia Capital.

MAGFIL was also in talks with leading investment companies from India and abroad for enhancing its capital base, he said.

The company will soon introduce the employees stock option plan and distribute 5 per cent of the total equity among the 4,500-plus employees within 5 years. Manappuram Finance Tamilnadu, a Tamil Nadu-based subsidiary, will be merged with MAGFIL shortly.

Nandakumar said MAGFIL would disburse loans to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore during the current fiscal. The company had disbursed gold loans to the tune of 1,907.78 crore during 2007-08. It also plans to foray into selling gold coins. MAGFIL earned a net profit of Rs 20.99 crore during last fiscal year and declared a 20 per cent dividend.