S&P says gets approval to set up Indian unit

MUMBAI, Feb 20 (Reuters) - International ratings agency Standard & Poor's said on Wednesday it had approval from India's Foreign Investment Promotion Board to set up a wholly owned unit in the country.

Standard & Poor's South Asia would offer services including credit ratings, index services, investment research and data and information products, the company said in a statement.

S&P said its existing Indian unit, CRISIL, would serve the growing demands of the domestic Indian markets, and the new subsidiary would cater to South Asian markets, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Mauritius.

S&P is a division of publisher McGraw-Hill Cos Inc. (MHP.N). (Reporting by V. Ramakrishnan; Editing by John Mair)