| In May 2003, HDFC signed a technical services contract with Egytian American Bank (EAB) to provide technical assistance for setting up Egypt's first private sector mortgage finance company, EHFC. |
| The other shareholders of EHFC are EAB IFC DEG and Bank of Alexandria, Egypt, said Deepak Parekh, executive chairman, at the sidelines of the company's annual general meeting in Mumbai. |
| This is HDFC Investments Ltd (HIL's) third overseas equity investment in a housing finance company, the other two being Delta Brac Housing Finance Corporation Ltd in Bangladesh and HDB housing Bank Ltd in Sri Lanka. |
| Shareholders also approved the company's plan to raise $500 million through foreign currency bonds or any other instruments. |
| Speaking on HDFC Standard Life financials, Parekh said the life insurance business has incurred a cumulative loss of Rs 23 crore and its general insurance business made a loss of Rs 22 crore. |
| Parekh added that the life insurance company is expected to break even in another two years. |
| If the 49 per cent foreign direct investment limit is approved, Standard Life and Chubb have expressed their interest to increase the stake in the respective insurance companies, he added. |
| Parekh also clarified that HDFC has no plans to split HDFC shares. The housing company is expected to register 25 to 30 per cent growth in both approvals and disbursements. The company has raised its advertising cost by 80 per cent to Rs 16 crore against Rs 8 crore. |
| In 2003-04, the company opened 30 new branches. However, it plans add on 20 new branches in this fiscal. Its total employee strength as on June 2004 stands at 1,244. |
| Commenting on the draft guidelines for ownership in private sector banks, Parekh said it is premature to comment on it as its a draft policy and the Reserve Bank of India has asked for a feedback. |
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