The current crisis in the euro zone will not create any major problems for India, but a 10-15 per cent correction in markets is not ruled out if it worsens, says Ridham Desai, managing director and head of equities at Morgan Stanley India. In an interview with Vandana, he says India will outperform emerging markets.

'There could be massive sell-off if crisis worsens'

Business Standard

The Indian arm of UK-based private equity (PE) company Actis aims to take the highest share of the $2.9-billion global fund. The fund allocation by the PE firm is different from its peers. While Actis India has a fund size of $500 million, each investment it makes will be matched by the global pool. As J M Trivedi, partner (head), Actis South Asia, said, &ldquo;If we invest faster than other region partners, our fund size can go up to $1.2 billion.

'Buyout in India is more of a succession issue'

T M Bhasin, the newly appointed chairman and managing director of Chennai-based Indian Bank, has been busy in visiting its offices in different regions and reviewing performance. In an interview with Vrishti Beniwal, he shares his plans.

'We want to diversify our risks across more borrowers'

Three years ago, when Bharti Airtel decided to pursue growth opportunities in Africa but did not want to adopt a country-by-country approach, Standard Chartered was roped in. Prahlad Shantigram, global head (mergers &amp; acquisitions), Standard Chartered, worked on the twice aborted MTN deal and the Bharti-Zain transaction. In an interview with Sidhartha, he says Bharti has still got to do some work on setting things right.

'No deal is done until it's done finally'

The state-run National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has launched a repositioning exercise to explore new opportunities and diversify its operations. In an interview with Sanjay Jog, Nabard Chairman Umesh Chandra Sarangi talks about the challenges faced by the institution and its plans.

'Repositioning aimed at exploring new avenues'

Private banking in India is still at a nascent stage and can absorb all the lessons learnt the hard way in developed markets, according to Jane Fraser, the global head of Citi Private Bank. In an interview with Sudeep Jain and Sidhartha, Fraser, whose previous role entailed supervising Citi&rsquo;s divestiture programme, discusses why India is one of the top two growth markets for Citi Private Bank.

'Private banking in India is at take-off stage'

Almost an year after going solo to set up Multiples Alternate Asset Management, Renuka Ramnath on Thursday announced the first closure of her $250-million fund. The former ICICI Venture managing director &amp; chief executive officer says that in a couple of months, the fund is going to announce the second closure at $450 million. Ramnath has succeeded in roping in Canada Pension Plan, which has invested $100 million in the first fund.

'I have started modest to achieve glory'

The Hindujas-promoted IndusInd Bank managed to expand its loan book at a smart clip in 2009-10, while keeping a lid on non-performing assets (NPAs). Kicking off the earnings season for banks, the lender has reported an impressive 136 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 350 crore, while keeping net NPAs at 0.5 per cent of assets.

'High NIM, lower cost of funds will be the main profit drivers'

RBI Governor D Subbarao said it was important to calibrate the exit from expansionary monetary policy. This is to ensure that growth, which has been driven by some of the interest rate-sensitive sectors, is not affected. In a post-policy interview with Sidhartha, he said RBI does not like to take mid-policy action.

'We would not like to take a mid-policy action'

The company's net profit was estimated at Rs 258 crore against a loss of around Rs 780 crore in the previous financial year. Low operational costs, high renewal premiums and a decline in capital-consuming new sales helped the life insurer swing to profit.

ICICI Prudential Life turns profitable

Regulatory action in the US may have put Goldman Sachs on the back foot but the Indian arm of the financial major is still focused on serving its important clients. Ashish Rukhaiyar and Vandana talk to Sunil Sanghai, the head of the investment banking team, on Goldman Sachs&rsquo; India plans, mergers and acquisitions, and the regulatory arena.

'Indian firms will be very selective in M&As'

A former deputy governor of the Bank of England, Howard Davies was instrumental in formation of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), UK&rsquo;s financial sector regulator, in 1997. He served as chairman of FSA till 2003 and is now director of London School of Economics &amp; Political Sciences. In an interview with Sudeep Jain, Davies says a tax on banks&rsquo; balance sheets to create a fund for future potential support is much more workable than a Tobin Tax.

'A Tobin Tax is not feasible'

Unit-linked insurance plans (Ulips), which have created a regulatory turf war, helped SBI Life report a net profit of Rs 276 crore during 2009-10, against a loss in the previous financial year. Despite the uncertainty over Ulips, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer MN Rao tells Shilpy Sinha he expects growth to be better this year.

'We will continue to expand in a controlled fashion'

In a strategic reshuffle at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, Atul Singh has taken over as managing director of Global Wealth and Investment Management in India. In an interview with Vandana, he outlines plans and explains why wealth management is an important business.

'Scale is absolutely important in asset management business'

The year gone by saw the re-emergence of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) as the dominant player in the business. The state-owned company is on course to exceed the Rs 176,000-crore premium income target for 2009-10. In an interview, Chairman T S Vijayan tells Shilpy Sinha &amp; Sidhartha that the company, the country&rsquo;s largest institutional investor, will generate over Rs 200,000 crore premium income next year.

'The challenge is to stay ahead of changes'

Citi&rsquo;s director for global investment banking Madhur Deora is upbeat on mergers and acquisitions (M&amp;As) and sees no problem with high valuation demanded by Indian players. In an interview, he tells Abhineet Kumar that the rules for banking and telecom sectors could make consolidation tougher and suggests that investment banks need to be paid better for disinvestment of government stake in public sector companies.

'Banks must be incentivised for divestment's success'

HDFC Standard Life is going through an image makeover by looking to become a more responsive and pro-active company. Once number three in the insurance industry in market share, it has slipped to the sixth position. Amitabh Chaudhry, the new MD and CEO, tells Sidhartha &amp; Shilpy Sinha that his effort will be to be different from the competition and fill the gaps within.

'Now, you'll see a more pro-active company'

3i is among the handful of large private equity (PE) players that have continued to hold on to infrastructure investments. With close to $600 million invested in India from its $1.2-billion India Infrastructure Fund, Anil Ahuja, head of 3i Asia, is confident of not only investing the rest soon, but also raising a similar-sized fund.

'We will raise our second infra fund in 12 months'

After raising Rs 325 crore through an initial public offer (IPO), United Bank of India (UBI) is pushing for a strong national presence. However, the Kolkata-based bank, which got listed on Thursday, is facing challenges like expanding the retail portfolio and improving the net interest margin. In his first interview since taking over as UBI Chairman and Managing Director, Bhaskar Sen tells Namrata Acharya about the strategic changes the bank is working on.

'Expect a big push on retail, SME loans'

Friday&rsquo;s was the first monetary policy that Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn has been involved with directly, and the experience has been rewarding. &ldquo;The rigour of the process was a revelation,&rdquo; one of the youngest deputy governors that the central bank has had says. In his first interview to a newspaper after taking charge two months earlier, Gokarn, 50, explains the rationale for the measures.

'We'd like More comfort in broad-basing of  recovery'

Newly-formed Ascent Capital, which is a separate investment entity carved out of UTI Ventures, recently raised $350 million (Rs 1,575 crore) for its first fund. The fund is focused on growth capital and is advising and managing ITVUS Fund I, Ascent India Fund II and Ascent India Fund III. Director Ajay Mittal speaks to Shilpy Sinha about the fund&rsquo;s strategy.

Page 42 - Interviews