News: 'Merrill to invest $1 b in India expansion'

(RTR 30/03/2007) Mumbai - U.S. investment bank Merrill Lynch plans to invest $1 billion to expand its Indian operations over in the next two years, the Financial Express reported on Friday, quoting unnamed government officials.

Merrill planned to hire more investment bankers, debt and equity specialists and research analysts to meet increasing competition from rivals such as Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and Credit Suisse, the report said.

A Merrill spokeswoman declined to comment on the story.

The newspaper said Merrill Lynch Vice Chairman and Chief Administrative Officer Ahmass Fakahany was recently in New Delhi meeting officials at the finance, commerce and industry ministries.

Merrill's India unit has suffered a number of high-profile resignations since late 2006, including managing director Munesh Khanna, its head of global markets and investment banking Amit Chandra, and Sanjay Sharma, who was head of equity capital markets.