New Delhi, Mar 11 (IANS): Asset management company BlackOpal will diversify into specialised lending with RBI approving its proposal for grant of NBFC licence.

The company proposes to operate the financing activity under a separate SPV of the group, BlackOpal Financial Services Pvt Ltd.

As pert of its plan to start the NBFC, the company has already raised $ 1.5 million for minority stake dilution.

The company plans to use 50 per cent of funds in retail and another half in real estate projects.

"NBFC will focus on bridging the financial gap for the SMEs/ retail and wholesale lending businesses and will be fully integrated with the asset management business of BlackOpal," said BlackOpal Founder Prasoon Chauhan.

The company is also planning to raise $ 5-7 million in the next one year and is targeting a book size of $ 15-17 million by the end of 2022.

Under the separate platform of group BlackOpal Asset Management, BlackOpal is currently managing five projects in various capacities, totaling 2.5 million sq ft having an estimated value of approximately Rs 1,325 crore.

Talking specifically about about the looming problem of stuck projects in the real estate sector, Chauhan said, "We are keen to partner through financing as well as project managers in such projects that are today unviable because of bad financial structures.

These projects require a new source of last-mile funding. If they get it, the developer will be willing to pay a premium to deliver the project and NBFC will be able to recover its money by ensuring better controls through asset management model."

BlackOpal is a strategic solution oriented venture focused on real estate sector. The USP of Black Opal is its ability to provide capital as well as asset management expertise to real estate projects.