Large Indian lenders are vying with their global peers for a share of the billions of dollars that are expected to flow following the inclusion of the nation’s bonds in JPMorgan Chase & Co’s emerging markets debt index.
ICICI Bank Ltd. and HDFC Bank Ltd. are planning meetings with investors in London, Singapore and Hong Kong in the coming months, seeking to woo them with a range of currency hedging products and custodian services, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private. Spokespersons at ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank did not offer any immediate comments.
The private sector lenders join foreign banks and brokerages including Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank AG in engaging with global investors, who could potentially invest large amounts of money in the South Asian nation.
The inclusion is expected to attract up to $40 billion of inflows, which exceeds the size of Indian sovereign bonds currently held by foreigners.
“We are seeing early signs that certain types of institutional investors, including sovereign funds and central banks, might be interested in hiring asset management companies to manage their India allocation,” said R. Sivakumar, head of fixed income at Schroders Plc-backed Axis Asset Management Co. in Mumbai. “We are seeing some conversations on this happen.”
