Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services on Friday said joint venture with global financial services group Manulife will help the company to expand the customer base in India.

Mahindra Asset Management Company, a Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services subsidiary, has formed a joint venture with Manulife. The 51:49 joint venture aims to expand fund offering and retail fund penetration.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Ramesh Iyer, vice-chairman and managing director, said, "The two partners believe that they can build a unique large business in the mutual fund industry."

"Manulife will be directly investing in the AMC business with 49 percent stake and Mahindra will have 51 percent. The 49 percent stake, which is valued at $35 million would be used for the growth of the business going forward," Iyer said.

"Some portion of funds would get absorbed into technology space. Funds would also go into creating brand awareness, as well as people capability and channel building," he added, "The regulatory clearance could take about 30 days."

Mahindra Asset Management has an annualised average asset under managementofRs 5,019 crore and over 1.6 lakh customers. It currently offers nine different investment schemes.

The Toronto-based Manulife provides financial advice, insurance we well as wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. As of March 2019, it had over $849 billion in asset under management.