Emkay needs Rs 90 cr for domestic, overseas expansion

Kolkata, Mar 27: Emkay Share and Stock Brokers Limited, one of the largest stock broking companies in the country, is entering the capital market for the first time to raise Rs 90 crores to part finance its domestic and overseas expansion programmes.

Announcing this Emkay Managing Director Krishna Kumar Karwa told newsmen here today that under the expansion programme 65 more branch offices would be opened throughout the country before this year end to take their total number branch offices to more than 100 from 38 at present.

''Moreover, we are planning to open two foreign offices of Emkay in Singapore and Dubai during the next few months primarily to cater to the increasing demand from over two million non-resident Indian population living in South East Asia and the Middle East,'' Mr Karwa informed.

Elaborating the financial results of the ten year old company whose annual business turnover had crossed the Rs 30 crore mark last year and is poised for 35 per cent growth during the current fiscal, Mr Karwa said while their primary focus had been on institutional broking, it was gradually shifting its focus on retail segment which contributed about 45 per cent of their total earnings.

Referring to his plan to make further inroads into the e-broking business and on-line share trading in a more aggressive manner, Mr Karwa said they were planning to invest about Rs 20 crores for preparing EMKAY's two profit making subsidiaries to face the increasing challenges in this sector in a more convincing manner.

Asked about his increased overseas ventures, the Emkay MD said after Singapore and Dubai, they might even consider to open similar foreign offices in London and New York since they were planning to get listed in both the London and NY stock exchangers shortly.

More about their financial results, Mr Karwa said during the last six months of the current fiscal their growth was phenonmeno with the margin of profitability growing by over 24 per cent to Rs 6.96 crores from Rs 6.44 crores, earned during the corresponsding period of last year.

Incidentally,their IPO of 6.2 lakh equity shares of Rs ten each with a price band of Rs 100 to Rs 120 per share would come through a 100 per cent book building process. The issue is slated to open for subscription for five days from March 31.

In the post IPO scenario EMKAY's promoters holding will be diluted to 72 per cent.

UNI