Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- JPMorgan Chase & Co., the second- largest U.S. bank by deposits, plans to grow its investment banking unit in India as the government prepares to sell shares in companies and local firms consider overseas acquisitions.

“We hope to see a slew of disinvestment in public sector undertakings,” Kalpana Morparia, the country chief executive officer at the bank, said while attending the India Economic Summit in New Delhi. Indian companies reviving investments and looking at cross-border acquisitions also offer opportunities for its advisory services, she said.

Banks including Barclays Plc and Bank of America Merrill Lynch may vie to manage share sales by the government after the home minister said Nov. 5 that all profitable state-owned companies must list at least 10 percent of their equity. Bank of America’s India head Kevan Watts said the sales will be a “big opportunity.”

Robert Morrice, Barclays Capital’s Asia-Pacific chairman and chief executive officer, said his company plans to “look into” the government’s stake-sale plans and will double its investment banking team in India over the next 18 months. It currently employs 35 people.

Morparia said JPMorgan will also tap growth in trade finance, or transaction banking, in India.

The New York-based bank is increasingly focusing on companies doing business between China and nations such as India, Korea and Japan, Morparia said. JPMorgan’s local team had traditionally offered trade financing, cash management services and treasury products to companies doing business between India and the U.S. and western Europe, she said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Bellini in New Delhi at jbellini@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 9, 2009 04:06 EST