Sudip Bandyopadhyay, a financial sector expert, has joined B K Modi-led Spice Group after quitting Anil Ambani group (ADAG) firm Reliance Money that he helped set up and nurture into the country's largest brokerage firm.
The NRI industrialist-led group has roped in Reliance Money's former chief to steer its ambitiuous plans for expanding into the fast-growing financial services businesses, including insurance, mutual funds and brokerages.
With an aim to establish itself as a prominent player, Spice Group is mulling over a string of acquisitions as also greenfield business initiatives, to make itself present in the entire spectrum of financial services market.
"We want to be in the entire financial services market, from insurance, asset management, brokerage, distribution and micro-finance to remittance and money transfer," Bandyopadhyay said.
After heading Reliance Money for over four and half years, Bandyopadhyay has joined Spice group as Group President, Financial Services. He has over two decades of industry experience having worked with companies like ITC and HLL, apart from Reliance ADAG.
Disclosing his plans for Spice Group, Bandyopadhyay said he would look at possible acquisitions whenever suitable opportunities arise, while it has already incorporated three companies — Spice Securities, Spice Commodities and Spice Insurance — for equity brokerage, commodity brokerage and insurance brokerage businesses.
Spice Finance will be the holding company for the group's new ventures in the financial services business. The Group has already acquired over 60 per cent stake in Wall Street Finance, which is into money changing and transfer business.
Spice acquired about 51 per cent stake in September in Wall Street Finance, which it later raised to 61.8 per cent. Incidentally, R-Money had acquired over 36 per cent stake in Wall Street Finance, but in early September sold this stake to the company's erstwhile promoters — days before Modi group acquired a controlling stake in the country's first authorised authorised money changer firm.
On Badhyopadhyay's appointment, Modi said: "We are making major investments in this growing sector and are sure that Sudip will take us to new heights and help the group to spread its foot print pan-India as well as globally in the financial services arena."
"Sudip will lead the efforts of Group in building Spice Brand amongst the investing community globally," he added.
Bandyopadhyay said financial services in India would witness exponential growth as the economy grows rapidly.
While opportunities were unlimited within the country, he added, there are significant opportunities abroad also, especially in "the I to I (Israel to Indonesia) region."
The country's financial services market, excluding banks, is estimated to grow to over one trillion dollars (Rs 50,00,000 crore) in the next few years.
Spice group is already present in a number of sectors, including telecom, IT and BPO, entertainment and retail real estate.
