'Want to buy a company, we can do it for you': Japan’s Mizuho eyes big deals in India

Mizuho, Japan’s third largest lender, is amping its India game. The megabank, which has close $2 trillion in assets, recently made an  investment of up to $ 144.43 million for a 15% equity stake in credit card issuer Credit Saison’s Indian subsidiary, Kisetsu Saison Finance (India).

This move is part of Mizuho’s efforts to expand its footprint in Asia’s burgeoning financial markets, aiming to address the rapid growth and digital financial service needs in India.

The lender is now looking at large-ticket transactions in India, Yasuhiro Kubota, Asia Pacific Co-CEO, Mizuho Bank, told ET in an interview. Kubota said the bank was looking at amping up its lending capabilities in the country. "You want to acquire a company and are looking for a billion-dollar cheque, I can say with great confidence that we can do it," he told ET.

Nearly 55% of Mizuho’s revenue comes from businesses outside Japan. In Asia, the bank deals in 14 countries, China in the north, India in the west and Australia in the south.

Private banks have been zeroing on India's wealth market or looking to further expand. LGT launched wealth management services onshore through a local entity that employs more than 200 staff with a presence in 14 cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru.

Julius Baer has had a presence in India since 2015 as part of the broader acquisition of Merrill Lynch’s international wealth management business. Two years ago, it rolled out a five-year transformation strategy that aims to double the number of relationship managers and clients, triple assets under management and extend reach to new cities.