As economic growth and confidence return to the markets, Asian investment and private banking sectors can expect to see a period of robust activity.
Farhan Faruqui, Citibank's head of global banking for Asia-Pacific, says there is increased confidence and liquidity to support transactions that need financing.
'We sense from conversations with clients that in the coming months we will see renewed outbound mergers and acquisitions [M&As] from Asia. Asia's growing breed of global champions, that blazed a trail a few years back, showed those with similar aspirations what was possible, so we expect to see more headline outbound mergers and acquisitions from China and India,' Faruqui says.
Almost 18 months after Citi merged its corporate and investment bank units into one entity, Faruqui says the structure has taken the bank even closer to its clients.
'The global banking structure gives us a single, unified coverage force that can deliver to our clients the best thinking, products and services in the industry,' he says.
'We have a franchise that spans the region and a product set. That means we can have a conversation with a client across the full capital markets and banking platform. Our global platform in more than 100 countries also means we have an unparalleled distribution network. If a client is looking for M&A ideas, we can literally look all over the world for them with our relationships.
'Citi has built up an outstanding team of professionals that has come through one of the most difficult times for this industry. My focus is on developing this deep bench of talent from within, but we will always look to complement the team and hire new talent.
