NYSE-listed Goldman Sachs, a global financial services behemoth, has announced the appointment of Sudarshan Ramakrishnan and Devarajan Nambakam as the Co-heads of Investment Banking in India.
In their new roles, Ramakrishnan and Nambakam will manage the firm’s broader investment banking strategy and drive growth across industry groups in India with a focus on deepening and broadening client relationships. They will report to Sonjoy Chatterjee, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the firm’s business in India. The firm also announced that Sunil Khaitan has joined Investment Banking as a Managing Director and Head of Financing in India.
“India is one of the largest and most exciting growth opportunities in the world,” said Sonjoy Chatterjee. “As the complexity of our clients’ needs grow in tandem with the Indian economy, these appointments reflect our continued conviction to bring together the firm’s global expertise, resources and network to further differentiate the advice, service and execution we provide our clients.”
Prior to their latest elevation, both Ramakrishnan and Nambakkam served as the Co-Chief Operating Officer of Investment Banking for Goldman Sachs in India.
Ramakrishnan joined Goldman Sachs in 2004 from Hong Kong and moved to Mumbai in 2007. He was named a Managing Director in 2015.
Nambakam joined Goldman Sachs in 2006 from London and became a member of the Investment Banking team in Mumbai in 2010. He was named an MD in 2017.
Indian economic outlook
Sunil Khaitan, who was previously head of Equity Capital Markets (ECM) for Southeast Asia at a global investment bank, has also now joined Goldman Sachs in Investment Banking as a Managing Director and Head of financing in India.
Goldman Sachs has been serving Indian clients since the early 1980s and established an onshore presence in Mumbai in 2006.
Today, it serves leading corporate and institutional clients through corporate finance (investment banking), equity sales and trading and fixed income securities businesses, as well as providing macroeconomic and investment research. Goldman Sachs is also an active investor in India, deploying more than $7 billion in capital since 2006.
Goldman Sachs Research forecasts India could become the world’s third-largest economy within this decade.
Driven by favourable demographics, the Indian economy is expected to grow at over six per cent annually till 2030.
Earnings growth, expected at a 14 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next five years, is the highest in the Asia Pacific. A significant driver of growth underpinning India’s economy will be capital investment.
The deepening of India’s capital markets and the attention of global investors will help fund such investment. According to Dealogic, the first half of Indian ECM in 2024 has been the busiest in history with overall activity reaching $27.5 billion (+193 per cent y-o-y). Since reaching a record $169 billion on a completed basis in 2023 according to Dealogic, India M&A volumes have remained resilient and robust throughout year to date.
Record-breaking ECM
Goldman Sachs was #1 in completed and announced India M&A in 2023 according to Dealogic. In February this year, Goldman Sachs advised Reliance Industries in a $8.5 billion strategic joint venture with The Walt Disney Company to combine the businesses of Viacom18 and Star India, the second largest Asia media M&A ever.
In financing, since 2021, Goldman Sachs has helped issuers raise over $20 billion in Indian equity markets, including LIC’s $2.7 billion IPO, India’s largest-ever IPO.
In 2024, where ECM activity has been dominated by secondary sell-downs, the firm priced nine block trades raising more than $2 billion, including as the sole bookrunner for Whirlpool’s $468 million block sale in February.