Bharti Airtel Shares Decline Over 3% Following Announcement of Significant NBFC Expansion

Bharti Airtel Ltd's Stock Falls 3.2% Amid Plans to Capitalise NBFC Arm

Key Figures:

• Market capitalisation: Rs 11.64 lakh crore
• Capital infusion: up to Rs 20,000 crore over the next few years
• Assets under management base: around Rs 1 lakh crore for Airtel Money
• Disbursed lending amount: more than Rs 9,000 crore over the past two years

On February 24, Bharti Airtel Ltd's shares fell by 3.2% in morning trade, making it one of the top losers on the Nifty 50. The stock was trading at Rs 1,933.7 around 10 am. Despite the decline, the stock remains up 21% over the past one year, outperforming the Nifty 50's 13.5% gain during the same period.

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The weakness in the stock comes a day after Airtel announced plans to capitalise its NBFC arm, Airtel Money Limited, with up to Rs 20,000 crore over the next few years. The company received an NBFC licence from the Reserve Bank of India on February 13 and will hold a 70% stake in the NBFC, while Bharti Enterprises will own the remaining 30%.

The proposed capital infusion could be leveraged to build an assets under management base of around Rs 1 lakh crore for Airtel Money. Airtel has a large customer base, which will provide a ready platform to scale the NBFC operations. The company has indicated that the NBFC's lending operations will be integrated with its existing digital platform, while maintaining operational segregation.

Airtel has already disbursed more than Rs 9,000 crore over the past two years through its lending service provider platform, backed by underwriting models and real-time risk monitoring systems.