Baring Asset Management has boosted its Asian capabilities with the hire of Ajay Argal, who joins in September as head of Indian equities.

Argal will be based in Hong Kong and report to Wilfred Sit, the firm's chief investment officer in region. He joins from Birla Sunlife AMC where he was head of offshore equities and managed the India Advantage Fund and Excel India Fund. Before that, he was with UTI AMC where he managed several Indian equity funds.

Barings said in statement that it believes that “the Indian economy is well positioned to embark on a multi-year growth phase led by productivity gains, cost advantages, as well as its well-educated workforce, especially in the information technology sector”.

“We believe that India represents a strong long-term growth story,” Sit said. “Domestically, India’s fast growing middle income class is driving a boom for consumer goods, while demand for housing and financial services is likely to remain strong for many years to come as the pace of urbanisation accelerates.”

In other developments, Barings bolstered its emerging markets debt team with the hire of investment manager Faisal Ali last week, after having launched its Dynamic Emerging Markets Fund earlier this summer.