Prudential ICICI AMC eyes BPOs

Prudential ICICI Asset Management Company (AMC) Ltd is planning to launch a product targeted at companies operating in the "outsourcing" segment.

Pankaj Razdan, managing director, said in Kolkata today, "Looking at the immense potential of companies who earns major share of their income from outsourcing activities, Prudential ICICI AMC is planning to launch a product that would focus on those companies."

Razdan was in Kolkata to announce the company's tie-up with UCO Bank for distributing its products through the bank's branch network. The company is working on another product but Razdan refused to divulge details.

At present, the company's product portfolio comprised 22 products.The company had initiated discussions with other public sector banks (PSBs) for tie-ups, in the lines of UCO Bank.

"We have initiated discussion for strategic tie-ups with two to three leading PSBs for distributing our products," added Razdan.

Meanwhile, UCO Bank has set up a target for achieving significant growth in its fee-based income from product disbursement, that constitutes insurance policy of LIC and NIC, and mutual fund products of UTI AMC and Reliance Capital AMC, apart from products of Prudential ICICI.

"The bank is looking at increasing its fee income from distributing financial products significantly. We have set a target of increasing our income from distribution to Rs 50 crore in 2005-06 from Rs 10 crore in the previous year," said V Sridar, chairman and managing director, UCO Bank.

The bank was also looking at Rs 1,00,000 crore of business in the current financial year, informed Sridar.

"We are looking at a total business of Rs 1,00,000 crore in 2005-06, an increase of 29.80 per cent over last year's business of Rs 77,000 crore. Total deposit is expected to grow by 27.60 per cent over previous year's deposit of Rs 49,200 crore whereas advances are expected to grow by Rs 9,400 crore as against Rs 27,800 crore in 2004-05," Sridar added.

The bank would be opening its representative office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on October 3, 2005, confirmed Sridar.The bank also planned to open representative offices in Dhaka, Dubai and China, he said.

Currently, overseas offices contributed around 6.25 per cent of total business recording at Rs 5,000 crore, Sridar noted.