Dam Capital’s Alok Malpani likely to be named CEO of Emirates NBD’s India investment bank
Mumbai: Emirates NBD Capital India Pvt. Ltd, the newly formed investment banking arm of the Dubai-based major Indian financial services firm, is likely to appoint Alok Malpani, managing director of DAM Capital Advisors Ltd, as its first India CEO, two people with knowledge said.
An official announcement could be made as early as this week, said the people, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Emirates NBD and Malpani had no immediate comment.
The development comes as the Dubai-based bank continues to push into India, including a $3 billion investment to acquire a majority stake. RBL Bank.
Emirates NBD Bank started operating in India in 2017. It applied for an investment banking license in late 2025 and began appointing deal makers. Bloomberg Reported in October 2025.
banking veteran
Malpani has almost three decades of banking experience. The long-time BNP Paribas banker spent almost a decade at the French investment bank in Paris and Mumbai, where he advised on the $30 billion merger of Arcelor and Mittal Steel, among other major deals.
After BNP Paribas, Malpani had a brief stint as head of structured finance at Axis Capital. Later moved to: DAM Capital Advisors Ltd in 2019, then known as IDFC Securities Ltd. As managing director at DAM, he advised on transactions such as the IPO of JSW Cement and JSW Infra and the sale of promoter stake in Sterling & Wilson Renewable Energy Ltd to Reliance New Energy Solar by Shapoorji Pallonji Group.
He will lead a team of approximately 50 people at Emirates NBC Capital.
Dubai’s flagship financial services group is setting up an India office at a time when deal-making is picking up in the country despite increased volatility due to US sanctions. Investment banks earned a record $1.5 billion through fees in 2025 in India. Mint It was previously reported based on data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).
According to the data, most of the money was raised from stock deals. Approximately $651.8 million came from stock deals, followed by $391.3 million from equity deals. mergers and acquisitions agreements. On the debt side, investment banks earned $232.5 million from bond agreements and $227 million from syndications.
