Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Ltd, a joint venture between the Chnnai-based Murugappa Group and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group of Japan, collected Rs 785 crore by selling new policies in 2009-10 and has targeted a new business premium of Rs 1,300-1,350 crore by 2011-12. SS Gopalarathnam, managing director, tells Niladri Bhattacharya about growth plans.

Q&A: SS Gopalarathnam, Cholamandalam MS General Insurance

Business Standard

At a time when banks are facing a situation of rising interest rates threatening loan growth, managing the growth-inflation dynamics has became one of the main challenges of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). K C Chakrabarty, deputy governor of RBI, speaks to Manojit Saha on this and a host of other issues.

Q&A: K C Chakrabarty, deputy governor of RBI

A day after roping in Japan&rsquo;s largest life insurer, Nippon Life, as a 26 per cent equity partner in Reliance Life, his insurance business, Sam Ghosh, CEO of Reliance Capital, tells Niladri Bhattacharya his company is set for a high-growth phase in the coming year. Reliance Capital is planning to double its commercial finance portfolio in two-three years to Rs 25,000 crore.

Q&A: Sam Ghosh, CEO, Reliance Capital

The market is expecting a 25-bps rise in key policy rates in the mid-quarter review of monetary policy to be announced by the Reserve Bank of India today. Pradeep Madhav, managing director, STCI Primary Dealership, tells Parnika Sokhi that further tightening could take place, as rising crude prices may exert pressure on inflation.

Q&A: Pradeep Madhav, MD, STCI Primary Dealership

Catholic Syrian Bankâ€™s single largest shareholder, a Bangkok-based businessman Sura Chanrichawla, is planning to reduce his stake. Yusuffali M A, managing director of Abu Dhabi-based Emke Group that operates LuLu hypermarkets and supermarkets in West Asia, is set to buy around five per cent stake from Chanrichawla. S Santhanakrishnan, CSB chairman, says it makes business sense for the bank to have Yusuffali on board. In an interview with Somasroy Chakraborty, he also offers details about the lender's fund raising plans, which include an initial public offering by the end of the year. Edited excerpts:Why is Chanrichawla reducing his stake in the bank and selling shares to Yusuffali?Sura Chanrichawla currently holds 18 per cent in the bank. According to the  Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) mandate, he has to reduce his stake to 10 per cent. Hence, the transaction to sell five per cent stake to Yusuffali will help him to reduce his stake in the bank.

Will leverage on LuLu's relationships in West Asia to grow deposit base: S Santhanakrishnan

Nilesh Sathe, director and CEO of LIC Nomura Mutual Fund says the companies RGESS Series I collected Rs 1 crore from 1,000 new customers on the day the scheme was launched

RGESS is for new investors, but may not be able to get back investors: Nilesh Sathe

Kerala's Federal Bank considers itself as the most aggressive player in the car loan market now

Our cost of funds is still high: Shyam Srinivasan

For the Indian arm of Singapore-based DBS Bank, the focus will be on growing its liabilities before entering retail assets. Sanjiv Bhasin, general manager and chief executive officer, talks on the strategy to Neelasri Barman. Edited excerpts:You are operating in India for 18 years and the focus has been more on institutional clients. Do you also want to expand consumer banking activity?Consumer banking contributes only three per cent to the total India revenue. In the long run, it is intended that the contribution to revenue be at least 25 per cent.We should also measure the contribution in proportion to the liabilities. At the end of last year (2012), it was 40 per cent, a significant contribution. The contribution cannot be measured in the proportion of revenue because we do not have asset products. Retail liabilities are a more stable source of funding, so we will continue to focus on these. Our objective is to raise retail liabilit

If we get more branches, we will grow: Sanjiv Bhasin

Interview with Director and Chief Executive, LIC Housing Finance Company LtdLIC Housing Finance Company Limited, one of the largest housing finance companies in India, is eyeing a consistent growth despite a tepid demand for home loans. V K Sharma, director and chief executive of the housing finance major, in an interview with Komal Amit Gera, unfolded the companyâ€™s strategy to hold on to its market share despite the stiff competition. Edited excerpts:The Reserve Bank of India has cut the repo rate by 25 basis points. Are the borrowers of LIC Housing Finance going to benefit from this?Our assest-liability management committee will review this. On the basis of its recommendation, we would pass on the margin to our customers.What is the growth target of LICHFL for the year 2012-13?We expect to grow at the rate of 20 per cent in the current financial year. Our target is to register a total business of Rs 25,000

Will perform but not in a race for market share: V K Sharma

L&T Finance, which acquired two lending companies in the current financial year, plans to become a comprehensive financial services company.

We can easily compete with banks in retail space: Dinanath Dubhashi

The good news is Indian banks are still adding jobs. Having said that, the most important part of our mission is ensuring the quality of assets is in good shape. A few sectors in India have pressure on on the asset side of the balance sheet. In general, banking continues to grow. We are growing credit at about 25% (a year)at our bank.

Indian consumption story the strongest: Uday Kotak


	
State Bank of Bikaner &amp; Jaipur (SBBJ) halted its branch expansion a few years back as it expected to merge its operations with parent State Bank of India (SBI).

If we do not grow we will degenerate: Shiva Kumar

Former RBI governor, Y V Reddy, in a conversation with Indivjal Dhasmana about his new book, Economic Policies and India&rsquo;s Reform Agenda: New Thinking, says the country should weigh risks vis-&agrave;-vis benefits before allowing the entry of industrial houses in the banking space.

Risks are real, benefits not certain: Y V Reddy

Inflows from abroad could ensure India ends the year with a surplus balance of payments. A gaining rupee is unlikely to hurt exports, as currencies of competing economies are also strengthening, Hemant Mishr, managing director and head of global markets for South Asia at Standard Chartered Bank tells Sumit Sharma.

Q&A: Hemant Mishr, StanChart

The huge glass-panelled window on the 13th floor of NCPA Apartments at Nariman Point offers a breathtaking view of the bay and Malabar Hill &mdash; home to another set of Mumbai&rsquo;s rich and famous. But Sanjiv Bajaj prefers his other home at Akurdi near Pune where life is relatively unhurried, write Shyamal Majumdar and Sumit Sharma.

Breakfast with BS: Sanjiv Bajaj

Vikram Akula would be hard to pick out in a crowd.

Lunch with BS: Vikram Akula, SKS Microfinance

In April 2009 when she quit ICICI Ventures, Renuka Ramnath felt like &ldquo;a mother whose child has been snatched away&rdquo;. A year and a half later, she has hit the ground running again by raising $350 million for her new baby &mdash; Mutiples Alternate Asset Management, writes Shyamal Majumdar.

Lunch with BS: Renuka Ramnath

With only one investment in the past three years of its presence in India, Advent International Private Equity is hopeful of closing a couple of deals in the next 12 months. The PE firm is looking to invest in financial services, healthcare and the industrial space in India from its $10 billion global fund.

Q&A: David Mussafer, Advent

IDFC Capital, the investment banking arm of Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation, has placed equity worth Rs 10,000 crore for its clients in the current financial year. In an interview with Sudeep Jain and Sumit Sharma, Group CEO (Investment Banking and Securities) Tapasije Mishra talks about pricing challenges in IPOs, the outlook on PSU divestment and new areas of opportunity in the infrastructure space.

Q&A: Tapasije Mishra, Group CEO, IDFC Capital

The U K Sinha committee report, which was released by the government this week, seeks to make life more predictable for foreign investors besides suggesting that steps should be initiated to protect individuals investing overseas. Sinha, who is the chairman and managing director of UTI Asset Management Company, spoke to Sidhartha about the committee&rsquo;s recommendations.

Page 36 - Interviews