The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is in the process of granting in-principle nod to Jio Financial Services Ltd and BlackRock Financial Management to launch mutual fund business in India, showed an updated list of MF applicants put out by the market regulator.
Jio Financial, which has a joint venture (JV) with BlackRock for asset management, filed the application for MF licence on October 19, 2023 and the current status is "under process". The applicants list is updated by Sebi at the end of every quarter.
In July 2023, Jio Financial Services, part of billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Group, and US-based BlackRock Inc said they will form a 50:50 joint venture to launch asset management services in India.
The two companies are targeting an initial investment of $150 million each in the joint venture, Jio Financial had said.
India’s asset management industry has seen rapid growth in recent years and has Rs 49 lakh crore as on November 30, 2023 in assets under management.
Through the tie-up with JFS and if Sebi's approval comes through, BlackRock will re-enter India’s asset management industry almost 5 years after it ended its JV with DSP by selling its 40% stake to the partner.
Jio BlackRock brings BlackRock’s deep expertise and talent in investment management, risk management, product excellence, and access to technology, operations, scale, and intellectual capital around markets, while JFS contributes local market knowledge, digital infrastructure capabilities, and robust execution capabilities, the firms had said in a joint statement.
“Together, the partnership will introduce a new player to the Indian market with a unique combination of scope, scale, and resources. JFS and BlackRock are targeting an initial investment of $150 million each in the joint venture," they added.