Unlocking India: Accessing the Public and Private Markets of the Sub-Continent
Overview
India is one of the fastest growing economies of the world. Over the past few years, there has been several regulatory & policy changes in public and private market space which greatly improved opportunity set for global investors including Canadian investors. This is also evident by billions being invested in last couple of years by incumbent large Canadian investors, in both public and private capital markets, while new investors are actively taking interest in India. Large Canadian pension funds plan to increase their India exposure to 1/3rd of their Asia growth market exposure. However, navigating investment landscape in India can be challenging for Canadian investors. India provides a significant growth potential for portfolio diversification in contracts to China. As the saying goes – “While in China the opportunities are well known but issues are hidden, in India opportunities are hidden but issues are well known”.
This webinar would provide insights into opportunity set India presents to Canadian investors. It would be planned by range of professionals expert in the Indian markets, regulatory regime, and investment landscape, attendees will have a greater understanding of the paths to invest in India as well as more specific opportunities that might suit their investment horizon and risk appetite.
Where
Dial-in details will be sent once registration is complete
CAASA’S Virtual PlatformSPEAKERS
Satish Rai
CIO
OMERS
Vijay Chandok
Managing Director & CEO
ICICI Securities
Ravi Varanasi
Chief Business Development Officer
National Stock Exchange of India
Tejas Desai
Partner, Private Equity & Financial Services – Tax & Regulatory
Ernst & Young
Jason Campbell (Moderator)
Principal
Eckler
Satish Rai
CIO
OMERS
Satish Rai is OMERS Chief Investment Officer, responsible for the overall global investment strategy, portfolio construction activities, and P&L accountability across all asset classes and geographies.
A 30-year veteran of the investment sector, Satish joined OMERS in January 2015, focused on delivering a strengthened approach to capital markets investing, with the goal of bolstering long-term value for members.
Previously Chief Investment Officer at TD Asset Management overseeing $250 billion in assets under management, Satish was also Chair of the Committee of the Advancement of Visible Minorities in Leadership Roles. Believing strongly that distinct perspectives strengthen a workplace, Satish actively delivers on his commitment to diversity at OMERS through a differentiated approach to hiring, mentorship and investing. Satish holds a Bachelor of Mathematics and a CFA. In 2002, he was recognized as one of Canada’s Top 40 Leaders Under 40. He serves on the Toronto Global Board and is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization/World Presidents’ Organization. He is a past member of the Board of the University of Waterloo and Women in Capital Markets.
Vijay Chandok
Managing Director & CEO
ICICI Securities
Mr. Vijay Chandok is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ICICI Securities. He has been with the ICICI Group for over 25 years. Prior to his current assignment, he served as the Executive Director on the Board of ICICI Bank. He also served as a Director on the Boards of ICICI Bank UK PLC Ltd, ICICI Bank Canada Ltd. and was the Chairman of ICICI Investment Management Company Limited. During his years at ICICI Bank, he was responsible for the International Banking, Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) businesses, Global Markets and Commercial Banking Businesses. He also served the bank in the retail banking group, rural and agri group and the corporate banking group over the years.
Under Mr. Chandok’s leadership, ICICI Bank has won numerous accolades including:
- Dun & Bradstreet’s Best Bank in Private sector for International Business Development consecutively for six years (2011 to 2016).
- ‘The Best Borrower from India’ for five consecutive years (2012 to 2016)
- The Best Bank for SMEs at the Asiamoney India Banking Awards 2017 – for its automation initiative besides winning the best bank in SME financing by D&B, Asian Banker & Asian Asset Awards over the years.
He is currently a member of the Advisory Committee of NSE and BSE. He is also on the Investment Committee of ICICI Prudential AMC – Real Estate Business.
Mr. Chandok holds a Master’s degree in Management Studies from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi (formerly IT-BHU). In 2017, Mr. Chandok was conferred with a Distinguished Alumnus Award from NMIMS University.
Ravi Varanasi
Chief Business Development Officer
National Stock Exchange of India
Ravi spearheads the Exchange initiatives in the areas of market structure policy across asset classes, fund raising platforms for corporates, SMEs and start-ups, Education, Financial Literacy / inclusion. He has earlier headed Regulatory function of the Exchange. Ravi represents the Exchange in various committees / advisory groups of the Regulator and Ministry of Finance. He has been representing the Exchange in international forums / groups. Ravi has been with the Exchange since 1995 and has wide ranging experience in Business Development, Regulatory and Operational roles. Ravi has a bachelors’ degree in Chemistry and a diploma in Management. He is an associate member of Indian Institute of Bankers and a certified anti-money laundering specialist. He has earlier worked with the State Bank of India and the Vysya Bank.
Tejas Desai
Partner, Private Equity & Financial Services – Tax & Regulatory
Ernst & Young
Tejas has over 18 years of experience advising and assisting multinational financial services clients and has worked on a wide range of assignments including inbound investment structuring, transfer pricing, tax compliance and regulatory advisory services to Private equity funds, distress/credit funds, FPIs and other financial services companies. Tejas is EY’s lead partner for some of the Firm’s large and strategic clients
Jason Campbell (Moderator)
Principal
Eckler
A Principal within Eckler’s Investment Consulting practice, Jason joined the firm in 2006. He provides investment strategy advice to a wide range of institutional clients, including DB and DC pension plans, endowment/foundations, single family offices, corporations and non-profit organizations.
In addition to consulting responsibilities, Jason is a member of the Investment Research Steering Committee which oversees investment manager and strategy research.
Jason’s specific area of expertise is alternative investments including infrastructure, real estate and private equity/debt strategies.
An active volunteer within the pension and investment community, Jason has authored several articles and presented on investment strategy at numerous conferences. He is currently a member of the Canadian Investment Review Advisory Board, a volunteer on the CNIB’s National Investment & Pension Committee and a director with the National Ballet School Foundation.
Jason graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1999 with an Economics degree. He has also earned the designations of Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst.
Opening Remarks
Ajay Bisaria
High Commissioner of India to Canada
India Foreign Services
Ajay Bisaria
High Commissioner of India to Canada
India Foreign Services
Ajay Bisaria has been the High Commissioner of India to Canada from March 1, 2020. He is a career diplomat who joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1987.
He received his early education in Mumbai and Delhi. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the St. Stephens College, Delhi University (1980–83), a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata (1983–85) and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Princeton University, US (2008 – 09). Prior to joining the diplomatic service, Bisaria worked briefly with the American Express Bank and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), in Delhi.
After training at the Foreign Service Institute in New Delhi, Ajay Bisaria chose Russian as his language of specialization and was posted at the Indian Embassy in Moscow (1988 – 1991) where he was attached to the economic and political wings of the Embassy. He worked as a Soviet internal affairs specialist in the months leading up to the break-up of the USSR.
He served as Under Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs on the East Europe desk (1991 – 92) when India was engaged in building new relationships with the post-Soviet countries. He then moved to the Ministry of Commerce (1992- 95), in the era of economic liberalization. He contributed to a new trade policy paradigm, using his training in economics and finance as part of a team that managed a complex but successful transition of India’s trade from rupee barter arrangements to a hard currency system.
He was posted as First Secretary in the Indian Embassy in Berlin (1995–1999), where he looked after commercial matters at a time of rising economic engagement between Germany and a liberalizing India. He was also entrusted with the project for the development and construction of the now-iconic building of the Indian Embassy in Berlin in the historic Tiergarten.
Ajay Bisaria was appointed Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of India in 1999, and served in this capacity till 2004. During most of this period, he was aide to the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and contributed to various economic, defence and foreign policy initiatives of the period. He attended more than 50 international meets with the Prime Minister.
Bisaria was posted to the World Bank in Washington D.C. as Advisor to the Executive Director for South Asia (2004–2008), where he worked on development projects and aid issues, contributing to corporate governance and multilateral economic diplomacy. He was involved in developing a policy approach to enhance India’s rankings in the Doing Business Reports.
In 2009, Bisaria moved to Delhi to serve as Joint Secretary (Eurasia) in the Ministry of External Affairs (2009–2014). His assignment was to head the Division coordinating overall policy and bilateral relations with the Eurasia region (including Russia, Ukraine and Central Asia). He helped articulate an ambitious policy vision for India in Central Asia (‘Connect Central Asia’) and coordinated India’s approach to six annual Indo-Russian summits. He helped articulate a coherent long-term vision of the India-Russia ‘special and privileged strategic partnership’. He also worked on India’s policy approach to multilateral entities like SCO and the Russia – India – China trilateral dialogue.
He was India’s Ambassador to Poland, based in Warsaw, with concurrent accreditation to Lithuania from January 2015 to November, 2017. During his stint there, he focused on forging strong economic partnerships, while deepening India’s cultural footprint. He also served as India’s representative in the Warsaw-based Community of Democracies.
From December 2017 to February 2020, Ajay Bisaria served as the High Commissioner of India to Pakistan. He helped establish linkages for India to engage with a new Pakistan government led by Prime Minister Imran Khan. He was involved in furthering various initiatives including the Kartarpur Corridor. He returned to India when Pakistan downgraded the diplomatic relationship in August 2019.
He assumed office as High Commissioner of India in Canada on 1st March 2020.
He holds the rank of Secretary to Government of India. He was part of the team representing India at the UN Human Rights Council, Geneva in September 2019, for a successful outreach on India’s human rights record.
Bisaria has published and lectured on issues of trade, finance and diplomacy with a focus on South Asia, Eurasia and Central Asia. He is fluent in Hindi, English and Russian; and has working knowledge of German, Polish and Urdu. He has a deep interest in yoga, plays golf and enjoys reading. He is married to environmentalist and writer, Bharati Chaturvedi, the founder of the NGO, Chintan.
CAASA Members
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Non-Members of CAASA
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