Citi to boost investment banking headcount in India betting on M&A surge

Citigroup plans to bolster the headcount in its India investment banking unit, betting on a surge in equity capital market and M&A deals in one of the world's fastest growing economies, a top country executive said.

"We haven't firmed up the numbers, but it would be a meaningful increase between this year and next year," Rahul Saraf, managing director and head of India investment banking unit, which currently has around 30 dealmakers, told Reuters.

A sharp surge in equity deals in India has made it a bright spot in an otherwise dull Asia. It emerged as the second busiest market in the world for equity ECM deals after the United States and is third largest in IPOs in the first half of 2024.

The momentum is expected to continue with South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor's India unit eyeing a $3-billion IPO, while SoftBank-backed Ola Electric is looking to raise $660 million in a stock market trading near record highs.

Citi has been the advisor on $6.3 billion worth of equity capital market deals (ECM) and $7.9 billion worth of M&A transactions in India so far this year, Dealogic data showed, putting it ahead of Wall Street rivals Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan.

Last week, the third largest U.S. lender beat Wall Street expectations for second-quarter profit, boosted by a jump in investment banking, markets and services revenue. Investment banking fees jumped 60% in the second quarter to $853 million.

In the remainder of 2024, Citi India expects there will be many M&A and ECM deals where the size could aggregate to up to $20 billion, Saraf said, which will help it take its share of deal volumes and market share as an advisor to an all-time high.

Saraf added that 25-30 mid-sized firms could list locally over the next two years.