ICICI's Dubai unit wins $300 mn for India

ICICI Bank Ltd said its year-old private banking unit in Dubai has attracted at least $300 million of money from the Persian Gulf to India, the world's second fastest growing major economy.

The investments were from 10 private equity deals in India's infrastructure, real estate and corporate sectors, Chetan Mehra, regional head of private banking ICICI Bank, said in an interview on Wednesday.

Gulf-based business groups, private equity companies and sovereign-wealth funds participated in the deals, which had an "average size of about $30 million," Mehra said.

He declined to disclose details because the deals are private. Interest in India has grown in the past two years as Gulf investors have looked for places to invest their record oil revenues.

Emaar Properties PJSC, the West Asia's biggest property developer by market value, plans to invest $12 billion in India over the next five years, Emirates Today reported in June.

Limitless LLC, an international property developer owned by Dubai's government, plans to build hospitals, shops and offices in India and will join India's Hinduja Group to spend as much as $1 billion building new hospitals in India.

"Economic growth in India is forecast to surpass 8.5 per cent this year, "Finance Minister P Chidambaram said on Tuesday.

"There is an enormous amount of interest in investing in India," Mehra said at ICICI Bank's office in Dubai. "We could be doing at least another 10 deals over the next year".

ICICI Bank's private-banking unit, in addition to offering wealth management in 18 countries, also helps channel investments into India. The bank's offices in Dubai, Bahrain and Qatar are the largest contributors to its private banking business, said Anup Bagchi, senior general manager of global private banking.