Japanese cos back to investing in India

Large trading houses, banks show interest, while smaller firms remain cautious

- Priyamvada C., Neha Joshi & Ranjani Raghavan

BENGALURU/MUMBAI: Top Japanese conglomerates and investment firms are ploughing money into India, putting unsavory episodes of the past behind them. While Japan's SoftBank has been investing in Indian startups for years, the biggest bets from some of the recent entrants are in financial services and new-age companies, multiple investment bankers said.

Leading companies such as Yes Bank, Avendus Capital Financial Services and HDB Financial Services have attracted bids from large Japanese banks.

Earlier this year, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Japan's largest financial firm, approached HDFC Bank for a $2 billion stake in its subsidiary HDB Financial Services. While a Mint report on September 4 said the HDFC Bank board has decided to skip the deal, Moneycontrol reported on Monday that talks have resumed. Meanwhile, MUFG topped up its $400 million investment in digital lender DMI Finance by another $334 million in August, and led a $47 million round in wealth management firm Neo Group.