In a notable development, DLF Ltd, recognized as India's most valuable real estate company, has partnered with Prudential Financial Inc (PFI) to announce they have secured an initial regulatory approval for their mutual fund venture, first initiated back in December.
Rajeev Talwar, group executive director of DLF, expressed optimism, stating, "We look forward to a successful launch once we receive the remaining regulatory approvals, which should take place sometime in 2009." This joint statement was made alongside Christopher Cooper, who chairs PFI's international investments unit.
The asset management venture, named DLF Pramerica Asset Managers Pvt Ltd, is under the guidance of Vijay Mantri, who recently transitioned from the Indian division of Deutsche Bank in April.
DLF Pramerica is set to join a competitive landscape with more than 20 firms aspiring to penetrate the Indian fund industry, a sector that has seen an impressive growth where assets expanded over four times to reach Rs 5.5 trillion in the five years leading up to 2007. However, this year marks a substantial decline, with assets decreasing by 28% to Rs 3.9 trillion, induced by a striking 51.5% drop in India’s benchmark index accompanied by investment outflows from fixed income funds.