Chennai, April 3 (IANS): Jewellery chain Kalyan Jewellers on Monday announced an investment of Rs 500 crore in the company by an affiliate of private equity firm Warburg Pincus.

In a statement issued here, Kalyan Jewellers said an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm, is investing Rs 500 crore taking the total investment to Rs 1,700 crore in the company.

According to the statement, the second round of investment comes at a time when the company is looking to grow its distribution network exponentially in India and expand its overseas operations.

"In the next three years, Kalyan Jewellers will build its presence in the central region of the country including Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and add new showrooms in Mumbai, Delhi and the southern region."

"Kalyan is also looking to expand international operations by entering into new markets such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Singapore and Malaysia. The Company will also bolster its presence in the UAE where it already has 13 showrooms," the statement added.

In 2014, an affiliate of Warburg Pincus invested Rs 1,200 crore in Kalyan Jewellers marking the highest investment in the jewellery sector in the country.

"The Company plans to nearly double its presence to 200-plus showrooms using a combination of equity, debt and internal accruals," T.S. Kalyanaraman, Chairman and Managing Director, Kalyan Jewellers, was quoted as saying in the statement.

"Kalyan is also working on a blueprint for a foray into the ecommerce segment which will complement our physical retail network. We believe that the curb in cash transactions will see a shift from the unorganised sector to organised players like Kalyan. The rationalisation of taxes under the GST regime will increase operational efficiencies significantly," he added.