Financial markets: the way ahead interview with Naina Lal Kidwai

Abstract

Naina Lal Kidwai is Vice Chairman of J M Morgan Stanley India, one of the leading investment banks in the country. Graduating in Economics from Delhi Uni-versity in 1977, Kidwai worked at Price Waterhouse while doing her Chartered Accountancy and went on to graduate from Harvard Business School, the first Indian woman to do so. On returning to India, Kidwai started in ANZ Grindlays and later joined Morgan Stanley where as head of investment banking, she led the foray into the infotech industry and forged the alliance with JM to form JM Morgan Stanley.Fortune magazine ranked her third among the top Asian business women in 2000, and among the top 50 women internationally in 2001.Fresh from the recent successful launch of Bharti Televentures IPO of Rs 850 crore and the successful closure of the acquisition of VSNL by Tatas, Kidwai talked shop with IIMB’s P G Apte, discussing the present recession, the post globalisation and liberalisation initiatives taken in the country and the inevitable convergence in the finance sec-tor. She dwelt on length at mergers & acquisitions, which is emerging as a Morgan Stanley core competence and concluded with words of advice for those seeking careers in the finance and investment banking sector.