StanChart to Increase India M&A Financing

Standard Chartered Plc (STAN) plans to increase takeover financing for Indian companies as it seeks to gain ground in mergers advisory in emerging markets on rivals weakened by Europe ’s credit crisis. “As the world goes through this turmoil, banks like ours which do have the capability and a strong balance sheet see that as an opportunity,” to lend for acquisitions, Neeraj Swaroop, the U.K. bank’s outgoing chief executive officer for India and South Asia, said in an interview in Mumbai yesterday. Standard Chartered funded deals including Aditya Birla Group ’s $875 million acquisition of Columbian Chemicals Co. in January to help defend its No. 3 position in Indian mergers advisory this year, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The London- based bank ranks 43r...