Reliance Money enters Eurozone

29 Aug 2008, 0021 hrs IST, Partha Sinha,TNN




MUMBAI: While a host of brokerages in India are shrinking to tide over the current rough patch, Reliance Money, the largest broking house in the country in terms of customers, expanded its operations to the Eurozone, aiming to tap nearly 2 million non-resident Indians (NRIs) and people of Indian origin (PIOs) residing there.

The ADA Group firm has already set up a company in Ireland, Reliance Money Ireland, and is awaiting regulatory nod from UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) to start operations in the London market, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, CEO, Reliance Money told TOI.

"Initially we will target NRIs and PIOs in the English-speaking areas within the Eurozone. Once we reach a critical scale, other areas within the Eurozone will follow," Bandyopadhyay said. As per estimates, nearly 1.5 million NRIs and PIOs live in the English-speaking Euro area.

With its office in Dublin (Ireland), Reliance Money now enjoys what is called 'passport facility,' allowing it to operate in the whole of Eurozone with minimal regulatory clearance. In the last one year, it had started its operations across Asia and also entered Africa, setting up operations in Dubai, Muscat, Nigeria, Hong Kong and Riyadh.

The company is also planning to set up offices in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Malaysia. Although some of the Indian broking houses are present in the UK, these firms mainly cater to the FII clients.