JP Morgan hires 6 to push India equities biz

Leading investment bank JP Morgan continues to expand its equity business in the country as the firm today appointed six new members to its equity and sales team and said it is in an advanced stage of discussions for additional appointments.

According to a release issued by JP Morgan, Chintan Maniar has joined JP Morgan from ICICI, while Hardik Doshi comes from Lehman Brothers. Other appointments include, Sonia Gandhi from Metanoia Consulting and Karina Goswami from Enam. Jitendra Raval joins the firm from Merrill Lynch while Vinita Muriani, Hutchison Whampoa's telecoms group, is also part of new appointments. The new team is hired for for JP Morgan's Mumbai office.

"As a further demonstration of JPMorgan's long term commitment to the Indian market, the equities business is consolidating its specialist global sales for Indian cash equities in Mumbai. This move will assist clients who are seeking to strengthen connections with the Indian market through direct access. The team will continue to be supported by the cash and derivatives product experts in offshore locations," the release said.

Nick Andrews, head (Asia-Pacific & emerging market equities), JP Morgan, said the investment will strengthen the company's global platform for Indian equities and is part of an ongoing plan to rapidly expand its emerging markets equities business.