India key to Asia-Pacific investment banking growth, says JPMorgan's Paul Uren

India has become a major focus for JPMorgan’s investment banking business in Asia Pacific, according to Paul Uren, Head of Investment Banking for the region. Speaking at JPMorgan’s 10th Annual India Conference, he said, “India has become a very, very important market for the APAC investment banking… investment in infrastructure, the policy support, the desire for global investors to have exposure to India, all of those things have been very positive.”

Uren acknowledged that in the short term, investors may remain cautious, but he expects the long-term trends to accelerate.

Across the Asia Pacific, deal activity has picked up despite volatility earlier in the year. “Ordinarily, when volatility or uncertainty is high, boards of directors tend to be somewhat cautious… What we’ve seen is that clients are deciding we have to get on and execute on our strategic agenda,” Uren said, pointing to corporate divestments, new investments, and private equity activity.

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For India, he highlighted outbound acquisitions as a growing opportunity. “Indian corporates are very well placed to pursue an outbound M&A agenda,” he said, citing attractive valuations and strong balance sheets.

Looking ahead, Uren said inbound M&A into India is also likely to increase as global companies look to enter the market. He pointed to demand from industries such as technology, financial services, healthcare, and consumer goods. “While some of the metrics may look like there hasn’t been that much activity yet, we’re talking to a lot of clients globally about ways that they can expand their presence in India,” he said.

For the full interview, watch the accompanying video

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