Oaktree hires former J.P. Morgan exec

Los-Angeles headquartered Oaktree Capital Management has hired a former J.P. Morgan executive to join its team in Asia.

Gaurav Parasrampuria joined Oaktree as a vice president in July after spending five years in J.P. Morgan’s special situations and structured credit investing team in Hong Kong. Prior to that, he worked as an associate in Morgan Stanley’s infrastructure investment team in India.

In his new role, Parasrampuria will reportedly be looking for opportunities in the Indian market from Oaktree’s office in Singapore, according to local news reports.

A spokesperson for Oaktree Capital confirmed Parasrampuria’s appointment by email.

The world's largest distressed debt asset manager was reportedly planning to make its first-ever investment in India – in the real estate direct lending space – in November last year, according to Reuters. However, it is unconfirmed whether the deal has been closed successfully.

Apart from Oaktree, international investment managers such as Bain Capital, Apollo Global Management and J.C. Flowers have all teamed up with local players to tap the growing opportunities in India for both stressed and distressed assets.

In 2013, Oaktree raised over $700 million for Oaktree Emerging Markets Opportunity Fund, the manager’s first emerging market distressed debt fund. The strategy targets stressed, distressed and other value-oriented investments in emerging markets.

The fund is managed by Julio Herrera and currently has assets under management of $959 million, according to its website.

In 2015, the firm entered the Chinese NPL market through a $168 million co-investment deal with Shoreline Capital.