Indian Future Capital Holdings To Bet On Consumer And Retail Space, Looking at Microfinance Investment

Here is an interview with Sameer Sain, CEO of Future Capital Holdings, a division of Pantaloon, India’s largest retail undertaking thus far (Reliance is planning one). Sain, a former MD with Goldman Sachs in Europe, is spearheading FCH.
He says FCH is a holding company and so far has three business lines up and running. Two are real estate funds – Kshitij (raised $80 million for it in 2005) is now fully deployed, while second fund called Horizon ($300 million) will be closing this month. The third is the private equity business which has Indivision India Partners Fund as a partner. "We’re currently raising money for this fund and targetting $350 million."
Here are some key points: He says there is tremendous opportunity for private equity investments in the financial services space. "Given that less than 50% of Indians have a bank account, we see great synergies between retail finance and shopping at a Pantaloon “Big Bazaar” store. In addition, our access to almost 25% of all modern retail space in India provides with a point of sale for financial producs. This is an area where I will focus given my own background." The company also plans to launch new businesses like microfinance, mortgage, auto, credit cards within the retail formats.
The critical success factor for FCH is their ability to attract and retain talent. "Our strategy is quite simple. We want to empower talent we hire to act like owners rather than employees. We want to give them the width and space to operate and the right financial incentives. We are rolling out a unique programme, LTWC (Long Term Wealth Creation) åö a variation of certain Western compensation models, tailored for India." [Via FinanceAsia.com]