BNP Paribas today announces the appointment of Abhijit Raha as Head of Institutional Equities and Corporate Finance for BNP Paribas in India. BNP Paribas also announces the appointment of Abhijit Raha as the CEO for the proposed Joint Venture Company between BNP Paribas Securities Asia and Geojit Financial Services Ltd. This proposed entity, to be fully managed by BNP Paribas Securities Asia, will be focused on developing the institutional and derivatives business; as well as managing the brokerage arm servicing BNP Paribas' corporate finance business in India, subject to necessary regulatory approvals and statutory consultation.
Abhijit will be jointly reporting to Pierre Rousseau, Head of BNP Paribas Securities (Asia) and Global Head of Equity Brokerage; and Christian de Charnace, Head of Corporate Finance (Asia Pacific). He will be based out of Mumbai.
Prior to joining BNP Paribas Securities Asia, Abhijit Raha was at the helm of an Indian-specific absolute-return fund run in partnership with Bank Julius Baer. Raha's career encompasses experience in equities, foreign-exchange trading and management positions in the corporate and investment banking field. He was instrumental in the growth of CLSA's business in India and South-east Asia, having spent six years in India as Chief Executive Officer building the business for the market; and three years as Country Head for Singapore and Malaysia. He is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons.) degree from the University of Calcutta.
"The appointment of Abhijit is a major milestone in the development of our corporate and investment banking business here in India. Under Abhijit's leadership, we will be able to deploy a new range of competencies essential to meet our clients' requirements which are becoming increasingly global and sophisticated. This initiative will build on the bank's substantial corporate and institutional franchise in India," said Mr. Frederic Amoudru, Head of Territory for India, BNP Paribas.
Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Rousseau said “Abhijit brings to the table broad-based investment banking experience as well as a proven track record of success in developing strong institutional equities and corporate finance franchise in emerging markets such as India. His appointment reaffirms our commitment to invest in the securities business in India, one of the most important growth markets for BNP Paribas Securities Asia in the Asia-Pacific. In addition, Abhijit will also spearhead accelerated expansion of our business with innovative equity derivative products and other financial solutions as the market opens up.”
“The development of the corporate finance business in India is an integral part of the Bank's ambitions for this country. Abhijit's spot-on experience and background will allow us to build our capital market franchise most effectively, including tapping the mid-cap space of the market. His international experience, coupled with the global platform of BNP Paribas, will put us in the most strategic position to capture cross-border flows as well," said Mr. de Charnace.
"India and China are amongst the fastest growing economies in the world, and with the India set-up now completed under the leadership of Abhijit, we are very confident that we will replicate in India, what we have achieved for our insitutional equity and corporate finance businesses in China," added both Mr. Rousseau and Mr. de Charnace.
About BNP Paribas Securities Asia
Supported by a global top-tier financial powerhouse, BNP Paribas Securities (Asia) is a pioneer in Asian equities brokerage. It offers a modern and powerful equities trading platform that provides institutional investors with a comprehensive range of solutions. Its top ranking research teams in Strategy, Macro Economics, and Corporate Research offer a fully integrated Asian equity coverage (over 500 companies, representing 90% MSCI Asia ex-Japan) and span over nine of Asia's most active economies, namely China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and India. BNP Paribas Securities Asia operates an advanced trading and execution platform where its experienced traders and innovative systems provide customized solutions and direct access across 15 Asian stock exchanges, including China, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand. The range of offerings includes connectivity, reporting, commission management, Transaction Cost Analysis and shortfall implementation. Execution is processed through advanced trading tools including Direct Market Access, Order Routing and our proprietary suite of trading algorithms GEAR™. As part of the Group's Equity Derivatives division which is a world leading player in Equity Derivatives; coupled with its exclusive franchise with the Corporate Finance Asia Pacific division, BNP Paribas Securities Asia offers its clients a unique platform to leverage from a comprehensive product mix and direct access to a consistent deal-flow. BNP Paribas Securities (Asia) blends established Asian expertise and complete service integration to respond to clients' increasingly sophisticated investment needs.
About BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com) is a European leader in global banking and financial services and is one of the 5 strongest banks in the world according to Standard & Poor's. The group is present in over 85 countries, with 155,000 employees, including 123,000 in Europe. The group holds key positions in three major segments: Corporate and Investment Banking, Asset Management & Services and Retail Banking. Present throughout Europe in all of its business lines, the bank's two domestic markets in retail banking are France and Italy. BNP Paribas also has a significant presence in the United States and strong positions in Asia and the emerging markets.
About Geojit Financial Services
Geojit Financial Services has a network of over 400 offices rendering high quality execution and related services. Geojit manages USD1.5 billion of assets for a customer base of 340,000 clients. The company, with 2,700 employees, is in the business of equities, derivatives, portfolio management services, custody services, distribution of mutual funds, and life insurance, commodity trading and margin trading. The company also has a strong presence in the Middle East via its joint-ventures in Dubai and Saudia Arabia.
Abhijit will be jointly reporting to Pierre Rousseau, Head of BNP Paribas Securities (Asia) and Global Head of Equity Brokerage; and Christian de Charnace, Head of Corporate Finance (Asia Pacific). He will be based out of Mumbai.
Prior to joining BNP Paribas Securities Asia, Abhijit Raha was at the helm of an Indian-specific absolute-return fund run in partnership with Bank Julius Baer. Raha's career encompasses experience in equities, foreign-exchange trading and management positions in the corporate and investment banking field. He was instrumental in the growth of CLSA's business in India and South-east Asia, having spent six years in India as Chief Executive Officer building the business for the market; and three years as Country Head for Singapore and Malaysia. He is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons.) degree from the University of Calcutta.
"The appointment of Abhijit is a major milestone in the development of our corporate and investment banking business here in India. Under Abhijit's leadership, we will be able to deploy a new range of competencies essential to meet our clients' requirements which are becoming increasingly global and sophisticated. This initiative will build on the bank's substantial corporate and institutional franchise in India," said Mr. Frederic Amoudru, Head of Territory for India, BNP Paribas.
Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Rousseau said “Abhijit brings to the table broad-based investment banking experience as well as a proven track record of success in developing strong institutional equities and corporate finance franchise in emerging markets such as India. His appointment reaffirms our commitment to invest in the securities business in India, one of the most important growth markets for BNP Paribas Securities Asia in the Asia-Pacific. In addition, Abhijit will also spearhead accelerated expansion of our business with innovative equity derivative products and other financial solutions as the market opens up.”
“The development of the corporate finance business in India is an integral part of the Bank's ambitions for this country. Abhijit's spot-on experience and background will allow us to build our capital market franchise most effectively, including tapping the mid-cap space of the market. His international experience, coupled with the global platform of BNP Paribas, will put us in the most strategic position to capture cross-border flows as well," said Mr. de Charnace.
"India and China are amongst the fastest growing economies in the world, and with the India set-up now completed under the leadership of Abhijit, we are very confident that we will replicate in India, what we have achieved for our insitutional equity and corporate finance businesses in China," added both Mr. Rousseau and Mr. de Charnace.
About BNP Paribas Securities Asia
Supported by a global top-tier financial powerhouse, BNP Paribas Securities (Asia) is a pioneer in Asian equities brokerage. It offers a modern and powerful equities trading platform that provides institutional investors with a comprehensive range of solutions. Its top ranking research teams in Strategy, Macro Economics, and Corporate Research offer a fully integrated Asian equity coverage (over 500 companies, representing 90% MSCI Asia ex-Japan) and span over nine of Asia's most active economies, namely China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and India. BNP Paribas Securities Asia operates an advanced trading and execution platform where its experienced traders and innovative systems provide customized solutions and direct access across 15 Asian stock exchanges, including China, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand. The range of offerings includes connectivity, reporting, commission management, Transaction Cost Analysis and shortfall implementation. Execution is processed through advanced trading tools including Direct Market Access, Order Routing and our proprietary suite of trading algorithms GEAR™. As part of the Group's Equity Derivatives division which is a world leading player in Equity Derivatives; coupled with its exclusive franchise with the Corporate Finance Asia Pacific division, BNP Paribas Securities Asia offers its clients a unique platform to leverage from a comprehensive product mix and direct access to a consistent deal-flow. BNP Paribas Securities (Asia) blends established Asian expertise and complete service integration to respond to clients' increasingly sophisticated investment needs.
About BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com) is a European leader in global banking and financial services and is one of the 5 strongest banks in the world according to Standard & Poor's. The group is present in over 85 countries, with 155,000 employees, including 123,000 in Europe. The group holds key positions in three major segments: Corporate and Investment Banking, Asset Management & Services and Retail Banking. Present throughout Europe in all of its business lines, the bank's two domestic markets in retail banking are France and Italy. BNP Paribas also has a significant presence in the United States and strong positions in Asia and the emerging markets.
About Geojit Financial Services
Geojit Financial Services has a network of over 400 offices rendering high quality execution and related services. Geojit manages USD1.5 billion of assets for a customer base of 340,000 clients. The company, with 2,700 employees, is in the business of equities, derivatives, portfolio management services, custody services, distribution of mutual funds, and life insurance, commodity trading and margin trading. The company also has a strong presence in the Middle East via its joint-ventures in Dubai and Saudia Arabia.