The new offering, available through Standard Life savings and investment products only, will provide access to HDFC Asset Management India funds. Standard life, which launched its Dubai office in November last year, said investors will also be able to choose a dollar-denominated share class should they wish.
Chris Divito, chief executive of Standard Life International’s Dubai branch, said: “While all retail investors have access to Indian markets, non-resident Indians in particular now have the option of investing in their home markets through a US dollar denominated offshore fund.
“These investment options are available via our savings & investment products. Standard Life is committed to providing our intermediaries with the very best choices across different markets and investment options. Customers should speak to their financial adviser for more information.”
HDFC Life – the owner of HDFC Asset Management – is a joint venture between Housing Development Finance Corporation, India’s leading housing finance institution, and the UK’s Standard Life. HDFC AM is the largest mutual fund manager in India, with £11.5bn in assets under management as at the end of June.
In its first half results, released last month, Standard Life revealed its wholly owned subsidiaries in Dubai and the also relatively new Singapore office had, due to start-up costs, made an operating loss before tax of £6m.
However, HDFC AM alone contributed £13m to the company’s coffers, more than offsetting the loss in the wholly owned portion of the company.
This article was amended on 29/10/2013 to reflect the availability of the products
