Kotak Bank plans to hire investment bankers to bet on M&A recovery

S Ramesh, MD and CEO of Kotak Investment Banking, said the increase would represent a 25% increase in its investment banking division, which currently has 80 people. He said the company was looking to fill analyst-to-director-level positions in financial services, healthcare and technology, where overseas companies such as Amazon and Walmart could look for investment opportunities. Electric vehicles and renewable energy may also be of interest.

“We expect global strategic companies to start firing their engines to consolidate their diversified presence in India,” Ramesh said in an interview in Mumbai. “We expect 2023 to outnumber 2022 mergers and acquisitions.”

India has $168 billion in pending and completed deals this year and is on track to set an annual record, as compiled by Bloomberg show. HDFC Bank Ltd’s $58 billion all-stock takeover of Housing Development Finance Corp led to the surge. Gautam Adani, India’s richest man and the world’s third-richest man, spearheaded the $10 billion acquisition of the local cement business of Holcim AG, the country’s second-largest company.