Goldman Sachs to hold board meet in India

Goldman Sachs Group Inc will hold its annual board meeting in India later this month in a sign of the US-based bank's "commitment" to one of the fast-growing emerging markets, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday.

The board meeting, likely to be spread over two to three days, will be held in the country's financial hub Mumbai and capital New Delhi from March 29, said the source, declining to be named as the meeting schedule is not public yet.

The Wall Street bank's chairman Lloyd Blankfein, chief operating officer Gary Cohn and other officials of its 12-member board including ArcelorMittal' chief executive Lakshmi Mittal will travel to India for the meeting, the source said.

"The decision to hold the board meeting in India this year reflects the company's focus and commitment to the country," said the source, adding such meetings have been held previously in other countries outside the United States, including China.

A newspaper first reported the planned Goldman Sachs' board meeting in India. A spokesman for the bank confirmed the report, but declined to give details.

Goldman Sachs last year ranked second in India's completed mergers and acquisitions advisory league table, while it was placed at No 9 in the country's equity capital market league table, Thomson Reuters data showed.

Goldman Sachs, which in January reported a 56% drop in fourth-quarter profit, said in its 2010 annual report it has seen higher revenue contribution from its "growth markets" such as China and Brazil and that it has "much more room" to grow.