SBI not looking at further diluting stake in MF arm: Setty

New Delhi: State Bank of India (SBI) is not looking to dilute its stake further in its asset management arm SBI Funds Management, a top official said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the listing ceremony of SBI FM, the largest asset manager in the country, SBI Chairman CS Setty said, "At this moment, we are not looking for any more dilution".

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He quickly added that capital markets regulator SEBI's minimum public holding norms will dictate any stake sales from here on.

SBI sold around 6 percent of its stake in the asset management company as part of the IPO process and now owns over a 55 percent stake.

Its joint venture partner Amundi, a global asset manager, diluted its nearly 4 percent stake and owns a 32.5 percent stake. Put together, both the promoters own around an 88 percent stake, which has to come down in phases to 75 percent.

The Rs 9,812-crore IPO was one of the biggest issuances to hit the market in recent times, which has seen sharp volatilities in the market, especially due to geopolitical swings. The issue entirely consisted of an offer for sale from the existing shareholders and did not have any fresh issuance component in it.

Setty said the business built over nearly two decades is not so capital dependent, and the purpose of going for a public listing was also to systemically better move where the largest of the fund houses is listed.

Over the years, the country's largest lender has invested around Rs 6,000 crore in the asset management company, which is now valued at over Rs 4 lakh crore.

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When asked about Amundi's strategy with regard to the partnership going forward, the French company's deputy chief executive Nicolas Calcoen expressed happiness at the journey till now with SBI and that it will be there alongside the lender for a very long time.

Shares of SBI FM debuted with nearly 7 percent gains on the bourses on Tuesday, with analysts attributing it to an urge among investors to capitalise on the potential of the Indian mutual funds space.

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