Bank Sarasin, the Swiss private bank, has launched financial advisory and consultancy services in India, with plans to open offices in Mumbai and Delhi on 1 July, joining a growing list of Western wealth managers entering the Indian market.

Sarasin will be incorporated as Sarasin-Alpen (India) Private Limited, which is a “Non Fund Based Non Banking Financial Company”, the Basel-based firm said in a statement.

The new operation will provide financial advisory and consultancy services to wealthy private clients in India and distribute select prime third-party products such as mutual funds. Various agreements have been established with organisations in India to enable Sarasin-Alpen (India) Private Limited to distribute their funds and portfolio management services, it said.

“This is a good time to launch our operations in India”, said Fidelis M Goetz, head of Private Banking, Bank Sarasin. “The Indian markets have shown early signs of recovery and India will become one of the world’s economic engines. Hence, it is a very important market for us and we have strengthened our presence in India through this launch”.

By end of December 2008 Bank Sarasin managed total client assets of SFr69.7 billion ($64.2 billion) and employed around 1,500 staff.

A number of wealth management firms have entered the Indian market in recent years and expanded their presence there. Earlier in June, Credit Suisse, for example, moved to recruit a team of relationship managers in the country. JP Morgan India plans to launch private banking operations in the country within 12 months, the unit’s chief executive was recently reported as saying. UBS has launched private banking operations in India. Barclays Wealth, meanwhile, has also been expanding its footprint in the Indian wealth market.

Although the Indian stock market fell in 2008, the country’s rise as a major economic power has fuelled a large expansion of its affluent middle class, seen as an important source of revenue for wealth managers in the medium term.