Brands
SMBC to set up wholly owned India arm after Yes Bank bet
BENGALURU: India’s central bank has granted in-principle approval to Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp to set up a wholly owned subsidiary in the country, the regulator said on Wednesday.
SMBC, which last year bought a 24 per cent stake in Yes Bank, has so far operated in India through a branch structure. Converting to a subsidiary will give the lender greater operational flexibility and place it on a footing similar to domestic peers.
A wholly owned subsidiary is a separate legal entity in India, allowing banks to open branches without restriction while ring-fencing capital from the parent.
The approval comes as foreign banks seek deeper roots in India’s fast-growing financial market.
SMBC currently operates in India in branch mode through four offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru. The in-principle approval allows the Japanese lender to set up a wholly owned subsidiary by converting its existing branches in the country.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
