Indian conglomerate Reliance headed by Anil Ambani, the world's sixth-richest man on the Forbes magazine list, is looking to create a presence in the Gulf and is open to partnerships with regional players, a senior official said. The group will mainly look for opportunities in sectors such as telecommunications, power, film entertainment and financial services, group managing director Gautam Doshi told Gulf News in an interview. “We are looking for opportunities. A general interest is there in the Gulf area,” he said. Reliance Capital, the group's financial services company, has applied for a license to operate from the Dubai International Finance Centre. DIFC officials are looking into the nature of Reliance Capital's business before deciding on the application. Indian client base. The company hopes to tap the large Indian client base in the UAE for selling products like mutual funds and insurance policies. Doshi said Reliance is also keen to develop power projects in the region. He said the group is willing to join hands with Arab investors and use Gulf money in its overseas acquisitions. “We can look at Gulf money whether it is equity, debt or a combination of both, or some other form in which we do a partnership. “We would be open to any good idea. By and large, we have so far funded our acquisitions from within the group,” Doshi said. Reliance Communications is in exclusive talks with South African telecom giant MTN for a takeover deal. The transaction could create a $63-billion telecommunications company with presence in 20 countries.
