Jefferies's Southeast Asia, India dealmaker Rao to leave, say sources

In Asia, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has been expanding with the hiring of senior bankers

Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s head of investment banking and capital markets for India and Southeast Asia is leaving the firm, according to people with knowledge of the matter. 
 

Probir Rao will depart from the US investment bank next week, one of the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. The Singapore-based managing director has been with Jefferies for more than 13 years, according to his LinkedIn profile. 

A representative for Jefferies declined to comment.

Rao is departing the firm as bankers in Asia are increasingly looking outside China for deals, in part because of geopolitical tensions between the country and the US. India has already set an annual record for deals with $165 billion worth in the year to date, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Jefferies was among the advisers on India’s biggest deal this year, HDFC Bank Ltd. and Housing Development Finance Corp.’s $60 billion all-stock merger.

Jefferies said last month that profit slumped in the third quarter as Wall Street contends with a persistent slump in dealmaking and capital markets activity. In Asia, the firm has been expanding with the hiring of senior bankers including Citigroup Inc.’s David Biller, who will be joining as head of Southeast Asia later this year, people familiar with the matter have said.