Religare Cap hires Citigroup's Nayyar

Religare Capital Markets hired Nalin Nayyar, a managing director at Citigroup, as head of investment banking for India as the company seeks a foothold in India.

Nayyar, 41, will report to Tarun Kataria, chief executive officer of Religare Capital’s local unit, and Sutha Kandiah, the global head of equity capital markets and advisory business in Singapore, according to an e-mailed statement from the Indian company today.

The appointment underscores global Chief Executive Martin Newson’s efforts to build operations by hiring bankers from rivals since joining Religare Capital in October. He named UBS AG’s Rob Munro as chief operating officer in May, after hiring Rob Flynn, also from UBS, as Asia head of investment banking in March. Kataria was hired from HSBC Holdings this year, while Kandiah joined from UBS.

Religare Capital is a unit of the New Delhi-based financial services company controlled by billionaire brothers Malvinder and Shivinder Mohan Singh.

The bank is ranked No. 19 in advising on mergers in India this year, and isn’t among the top 20 managers of share sales in the nation. Citigroup is ranked first on share sales, while Morgan Stanley has the lead in takeovers, the data show.

Nayyar was hired by New York-based Citigroup’s investment banking team in Mumbai in April 2008 from Lehman Brothers Holdings, where he had worked since 2000. At Citigroup, he oversaw coverage of relationships in the industrials sector, including mining, metals and capital goods, Religare Capital said.

Debasis Ghosh, a spokesman for Citigroup in Mumbai, declined to comment.