Mirae Asset promotes Indian unit head to vice chairman

Mirae Asset Financial Group, South Korea’s leading financial conglomerate, on Monday promoted Swarup Mohanty, the head of its Indian asset management subsidiary, to vice chairman to expand its business in Asia’s third-largest economy.

Mohanty, chief executive officer of Mirae Asset Investment Managers Pvt., became the first non-Korean to take the No. 2 post in the group, which had nine non-Korean CEOs, but now has eight such CEOs with Mohanty's promotion.

Mohanty, who joined Mirae Asset Global Investments in India as head of sales in July 2011, has been leading Mirae Asset Investment Managers in the South Asian country since February 2016.

“The unprecedented promotion resulted from considerations of the group’s determination to further expand the Indian business and Mohanty’s contributions for growth,” said a Mirae Asset official in Seoul.

Mirae Asset Financial Group’s Indian business is considered a major success of the South Korean financial industry’s overseas expansion. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. opened its Mumbai office in 2006.

The firm manages 22 trillion won ($16.3 billion) in assets in India, the largest among foreign asset managers there. Its Indian affiliate has some 6 million clients, generating a net profit of up to 40 billion won a year.

Mirae Asset Financial Group saw strong growth potential in India given its rapid economic expansion amid the sustained conflict between China and the US, as well as the Indian government’s digital reforms.

“Mohanty will play an important role in the Indian business, on which Mirae Asset group is focusing,” the official in Seoul said.

RESHUFFLES TOP MANAGEMENT IN SOUTH KOREA

The group reshuffled its top management at home to accelerate growth in overseas business with founding members such as Mirae Asset Securities Co. Its Chairman and Co-CEO Choi Hyun Man is stepping down.

The brokerage houses’ presidents Kim Mi Seob, Heo Sun-Ho and Rhee Jungho were promoted to vice chair positions.

The group also raised Mirae Asset Global Investments President Lee Jun-yong and Mirae Asset Life Insurance Co. President & CEO Kim Jae Sik to vice chair roles.

“The most important issue since the foundation in 1997 was a generational handover,” said Global Strategy Officer and group founder Park Hyeon Joo. “We decided to launch a professional manager system to prepare for the next 10 years.”

Write to Eui-Myung Park and Man-Su Choe at uimyung@hankyung.com
 

Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.