Barclays Capital upbeat on India, to up capital allocation

MUMBAI: Barclays Capital is upbeat on the structured financial products space in the country which looks set to double to USD 2-billion this year from the USD 1-billion of last year, a top company official said.

"There is a huge demand for structured financial products in the country...we expect the market to double this year to $2-billion," Barclays Capital's Managing Director, Dixit Joshi, told reporters here.

"We will be increasing our capital allocation besides raising our headcount in India," Joshi said, without, however, disclosing details.

With more peers entering the Indian market, competition was hotting up, Joshi said, adding that not only was the market growing rapidly but there was also an increasing awareness amongst Indian investors who were now demanding sophisticated products.

"Investors here are now realising that there are products available that not only protect their capital but also give upside returns," he said.

Barclays Capital's present customer base comprises of asset managers, security-broking houses, high networth individuals (HNIs), large brokers and private banks.

On its India-strategy, Joshi said that "India features high as one of our priority markets...our focus now is on growing the market here."