ICICI Securities Ltd. has recently appointed Gaurav Singhvi and Sarun Agarwal as co-heads of the equity capital markets division of its investment banking unit, effective May 1. The two new hires are replacing Pratik Loonker, who left to join a rival firm, Axis Capital Ltd. Singhvi has over six years of experience at ICICI Securities as well as previous roles at IIFL Capital Ltd. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Agarwal has been with ICICI Securities for more than two years.
The Indian market has seen a surge in initial public offerings (IPOs) in recent times, leading to a significant amount of movement among investment bankers. In response to this trend, ICICI Bank plans to make 15 new hires in its investment banking division to strengthen its mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and fundraising practices. Additionally, the bank plans to hire another 15 professionals in sales, trading, and research. However, there have been rumors that the bank’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sandeep Bakhshi intends to step down, but these reports have not been confirmed yet.
Meanwhile, JPMorgan’s India head of equity capital markets, Abhinav Bharti, has returned to the bank after considering a move to another lender. This decision was made after his intended replacement, Arvind Vashistha, decided to remain at Citigroup Inc. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and global economic uncertainty, India’s IPO market continues to be strong compared to many other regions with the country’s stock market value surpassing Hong Kong’s to become the world’s fourth largest in January 2024.
In Q1 2024 alone, ICICI Securities was among the top 10 managers of equity and rights offerings in India which highlights their strong presence and performance in the Indian market.