Hindujas To Focus On Sectoral Holding

The Hinduja group has dropped its plan to integrate its eight businesses under one holding company structure. Instead, the group has decided to set up different holding companies for the main businesses of power, finance and the ICE sector.

While Hinduja Finance has already been made the holding firm for the ICE sector, the group has now decided to set up a holding company for its interests in banking and finance.

The move has been necessitated by a decision to foray into insurance "in a major way", group officials said.

The Hindujas are planning to set up three separate insurance joint ventures for life, non-life and reinsurance, where the group is planning to partner more than one transnational for the three areas.

 

Confirming the development, senior group officials said, "We will not tie-up with just one multinational for the entire range of insurance businesses. For each area, we are looking for a different partner with the requisite expertise."

It is learnt that the final decision on its partners has been delayed somewhat as one US-based transnational with which the Hindujas had been negotiating for some months now is going through a major restructuring of its worldwide operations.

For power, where the Hindujas are planning to set up a 1,084 mw project in Vishakhapatnam, besides a few smaller ones in Tamil Nadu, plans are afoot to set up another holding company as well. In India, the group also has interests in commercial vehicles, trading, pharmaceuticals, project development and realty.

The securities trading and corporate advisory services of Hinduja Finance will also be hived off into a separate entity before it goes for a listing on the Nasdaq. This company will come under the finance holding arm.

The Hinduja officials said, "We have some major resource raising plans for the technology and entertainment companies and are presently drawing on the expertise of the finance division. Once the consolidation exercise in the ICE sector is through, the finance business of Hinduja Finance will be spun off."