By Shefali Anand
MUMBAI--The Indian government has appointed K. V. Kamath as
chief of a new development bank created by the emerging BRICS
economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South
Africa.
Like the World Bank, the New Development Bank as it will be
called, will finance infrastructure projects in emerging
markets.
Last year, leaders of the BRICS countries decided to base the
bank in Shanghai, with initial capital of $50 billion, and pick its
first chief executive from India.
On Monday, India appointed Mr. Kamath to the role of chief
executive, according to an official with the ministry of
finance.
Mr. Kamath is currently the non-executive chairman of the boards
of ICICI Bank Ltd. (532174.BY), India's largest non state-run bank
by assets, as well as Infosys Ltd. (500209.BY), one of India's
largest information technology firms.
The veteran banker started his career in 1971 at an Indian
financial institution that was later merged with what is now ICICI
Bank. In 1988, he started working with the Asian Development Bank
before returning to ICICI Bank as its managing director in 1996. He
retired from the bank in April 2009 to take over as its
non-executive chairman.
In 2008, Mr. Kamath was awarded the Padma Bhushan, given by the
president of India to non-military personnel who have distinguished
themselves in any field.
Write to Shefali Anand at Shefali.Anand@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires