The Shriram group can utilise the stake sale proceeds to expand its profitable insurance business.

The Rs.2,014-crore, which will accrue to the Shriram group from the stake sale, would fund the group’s foray into neighbouring geographies, Shriram group founder R. Thyagarajan said.

'What comes to Shriram Capital could go into our insurance business. We are operating our life and general insurance business profitably and economically,’’ Mr. Thyagarajan said.

The Shriram group has a tie-up with the Sanlam group of South Africa for its insurance foray. 'They are keen to come into Asia, and we would be happy to move into neighbouring countries. The extra financial strength through the Piramal deal would be beneficial for our future plans. We would look at expanding into Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh among others,’’ Mr. Thyagarajan told this correspondent on the sidelines of the press conference.

The Shriram group had applied for a banking licence but was not allotted the licence by the Reserve Bank of India. 'We are not obsessed with a banking licence, but will welcome it when it comes as we believe we can create better value for people,’’ Mr. Thyagarajan said, adding that 'we will not get worked up if it is not coming or it is delayed as we have several other things. The RBI Governor had talked about differentiated banking entities, but nothing concrete in that regard has been announced yet. When the opportunity arises, we will be happy to participate.’’