Kotak Mahindra Capital Company partners Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp

MUMBAI: Kotak Mahindra Capital Company on Thursday announced the formation of a strategic alliance with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and its subsidiary SMBC Nikko Securities Inc (SMBC Nikko).

"Japan is a priority market for cross-border M&A with India, and the growing relationship and synergies between the two countries will only continue to get stronger.

"We are confident that through this alliance we can offer the best opportunities, advice and solutions to our clients," Kotak Investment Banking Managing Director & CEO TV Raghunath told reporters here.

There will be no equity investment from SBMC, Raghunath said.

SMBC is the core financial institution of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG), the second largest financial services group in terms of market capitalisation in Japan.

SMBC Nikko is one of the largest full-service securities and investment banking firms in Japan. With a combined team of over 500 investment banking professionals in Japan, SMBC and SMBC Nikko have advised on 90 transactions with announced deal value of over USD 24 billion in CY 2012 year-to-date.

In 2010, Kotak and SMBC entered into an MoU for business cooperation across various businesses of mutual interest, subject to relevant regulations. Since then, both groups have collaborated in and are working on a number of areas such as trade finance, treasury products, corporate customer referrals, asset management and alternate assets.