BNP will bring in $5 million towards its share of the capital in the new venture constituting 75 per cent of the paid-up equity while the balance amount will be brought in by two individual shareholders taking the total equity to $6.6 million. BNP will raise the equity of BNP PPI to $10 million in the coming years.

The investment banking subsidiary will seek membership from the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange and intends taking up merchant banking, underwriting, financial consultancy and stock broking activities. BNP PPI will aim at providing local and foreign institutional investors with international quality researchservices.

The bank had earlier made a bid to take over Peregrine Capital India Pvt Ltd, in the beginning of the year, after its successful takeover of the Greater China and Hong Kong operations of Peregrine Investment Holdings Ltd. Since an agreement could not be reached for the takeover of the Indian company, it was decided to set up a new company with the approval of the FIPB.

BNP PPI will be run by a team of 25 professionals experienced both in the Indian and regional capital markets of Asia. It has already employed 15 people from the erstwhile Peregrine Capital India Pvt Ltd. BNP PPI will also draw support from its wide experience in several other developed and emerging markets. In Asia, the BNP Prime Peregrine group has over 350 professionals employed with it.

BNP, which was privatised by the French government through a public offering in 1993, is among the 20 largest international banks in the world with the fifth largest international network of around 2,500 offices in over 80 countries employingmore than 52,000 people.

In Asia, BNP is supplementing its long-standing banking presence by establishing and acquiring entities which offer a whole range of financial services. In line with this strategy, BNP established access to the south-east Asian market by acquiring the operations of Peregrine in Greater China and Hong Kong, giving itself a stronger foothold in these markets. A more recent acquisition has been the fixed income trading house of Oakreed in Hong Kong.