Citi exec says not selling stake in India's HDFC

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc (C.N) has no intention of selling its stake in India's Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC.BO) and is refining its strategic vision for the country, its Asia-Pacific head told the Mint paper.

Citigroup, the largest U.S. bank by assets, on Monday unveiled a reorganization of its Asia-Pacific business, splitting it by geography and across seven product lines, and giving regional heads increased authority.

"India is a very critical growth market for Citi," Citigroup Asia-Pacific CEO Ajay Banga told Mint in an interview published on Wednesday. "We have been retaining profits locally and investing in India. We have also moved capital to India when necessary."

The growth of India's middle class, its increasing wealth, growing companies and an increasing focus on infrastructure are some factors that made India an attractive market, Banga said.

"They all fit our product and franchise capability. We have faith in India's growth ... (and) are also working on refining our strategic vision for India," he said.

Banga said Citi did not plan to sell its stake in HDFC, India's top mortgage lender.

"We have no intention to do that," he said.

"HDFC is an outstanding institution and we have no plan whatsoever to divest our stake. It has been a great investment for our shareholders."

HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh last month had said Citi was not selling its 11.74 percent stake in HDFC, worth about 55-60 billion rupees ($1.3-$1.4 billion).

Mint said Banga would not comment on an Economic Times report on Tuesday that said top software services exporter Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.BO) was close to buying Citi's captive back-office unit in India for about $500-$550 million.

A Citi spokesman in India had declined comment on the report.

($1=43.8 rupees)

(Reporting by Rina Chandran; Editing by John Mair)