Utkarsh Micro Finance plans to raise Rs 500 crore through private placement
MUMBAI: Utkarsh Micro Finance plans to raise as much as Rs 500 crore by privately selling shares to institutions as the Varanasi-based micro lender, which holds an in-principle licence to set up a small finance bank, beefs up capital to expand.
“We have appointed Avendus and ICICI Securities to manage the fundraising programme”, said Ashwani Kumar, vice-president of Utkarsh. “We are going to raise around Rs 500 crore through private placement.”
Utkarsh is among 10 entities that got the Reserve Bank of India’s initial approval to set up small finance banks to serve the under-served within the ambit of a stable regulatory framework. The inprinciple licence is valid for 18 months.
According to the rules, if an existing non-banking finance company is converted into a small finance bank, where over 10 per cent of the stake is held by entities other than the promoters, the RBI may consider giving it up to three years to reduce this holding to 10 per cent or less.
Utkarsh, backed by Aavishkaar Goodwell, Commonwealth Development Corp, International Finance Corporation, Lok Capital and Norwegian Microfinance Initiative, was founded in 2009. It provides credit to the poor in the northern states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. It has more than 120 branches and close to 3 lakh active borrowers.
Read full article: Economic Times
About 17,000 employees of the Reserve Bank of India are set to go on strike today for better retirement benefits Read more
Three banks snapped up almost 90 percent of bonds sold by Indian states to foreigners, and turned them into derivatives, Read more
The rupee on Friday hit over two-year low amid continued selling by foreign institutional investors in domestic stock and debt Read more
The RBI is set to "fine tune" the Gold Monetisation scheme as the initial response to the scheme has been Read more
