UTI Mutual to launch offshore fund

The UTI Mutual Fund is set to launch an offshore debt fund in association with the 150 year old Depfa Bank of Germany in the third week of this month.

"We have recently signed a MoU with the Depfa Bank in this regard and the final agreement will be singed on the 24 or 25th of this month, DSR Murthy, executive director, UTI Mutual Fund told Business Standard.

Coinciding with the launch of the fund, a road show is proposed to be organized in Dubai, where Dpfa Bank has a substantial clientele among the non-resident Indians. The fund, christened as UTI India Debt Fund, will operate through the conventional Mauritius route, Murthy added.

To begin with, Depfa will channelise $50 million for investment in India through the fund within a month of its launching. "But we are looking at a figure of $500 million investment in the country through this fund in a year's time," Murthy said.

This apart, the UTI Fund has entered into a tie-up with the State Street Bank of the USA, the largest asset manager and custodian in the world, for launching of two funds in India. The funds, to come under the banner of UTI Global Titanic Fund and UTI Global Navigator Fund, will collect money in the country for investment abroad.

These being the first such schemes for UTI, the company is waiting for detail guidelines from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) before launching the funds.

In another pioneering effort to offer better service to its customers, UTI MF intends to integrate some of its operations with the ATM facility of its sisterconcern UTI Bank soon.

"To start with we will facilitate buying of units through ATMs of UTI Bank across the country", Murthy pointed out.

"The necessary software programmes to offer this facility in the ATMs is now under testing and the service will be launched within the next month."

Apart from buying, the software is equipped to handle repurchase of units of certain liquid schemes of the company through the UTI Bank Debit Card.

But as the card can be used in other business establishments besides the UTI Bank ATMs, tkhe company will require RBI permission for launching of the repurchasing service through ATMs.

"We hope to get the requisite RBI permission and make available the repurchasing facility to our customers through the ATMs later, may be by the end of the current year", Murthy added.

Murthy said, the asset under management of the company which stood at Rs 20,740 crore by the end of March, 2005, has grown by Rs 2010 crore in the first quarter of the current year. "Our target is to increase it by 30 per cent in the current year", he said.