Goldman Sachs to Ramp Up India Operations - Paper

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is looking to launch a full complement of services in India, including an asset management company, a brokerage, and units for wealth management and commodities, the Mint newspaper said on Thursday.

Goldman Sachs, which broke off a venture with India's Kotak Mahindra Group to set up shop on its own in 2006, will also launch an offshore fund this month and set up a non-banking finance company, the paper said, citing the India head of the U.S. investment bank.

"We are ready to attack all opportunities," Brooks Entwistle, managing director and chief executive of Goldman Sachs India, told the paper in an interview.

"Having a significant presence in India is a must for any firm that describes itself as global," the paper quoted him as saying.

Foreign banks including Goldman, Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Lehman Brothers (LEH.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and HSBC (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) are beefing up in India ahead of a planned review in 2009 which may ease some curbs on them.

Entwistle moved from Hong Kong in 2006 to set up the office, which now employs some 100 people in Mumbai, the paper said.

Goldman Sachs is awaiting approval from the capital markets regulator for its asset management business, and is also strengthening its presence in the private equity space, it said.

Its recent investments include small stakes in mobile operator Bharti Airtel Ltd's (BRTI.BO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) tower unit, as well as in the National Stock Exchange and the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange.

It also bought 20 percent in power trading firm PTC India's (PTCI.BO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) financial services firm.