Daiwa Asset Management has launched a new asset management business in India.

The launch follows on the completion of Daiwa Securities Group's acquisition of Shinsei Asset Management (India) in December 2010, which led to the renaming of the company into Daiwa Asset Management (India). DAM is the asset management unit of Daiwa Securities and manages more than 300 funds across various asset classes worldwide.

"The launch of DAM in India is consistent with our stated strategy of investing primarily in Asia and the faster growing emerging markets. This investment is of strategic importance as it gives us foothold in potentially one of the largest retail asset management markets in the world," Toshiro Ishibashi, president of DAM, said in a statement.

India is home to a lot untapped wealth. According to the 2010 Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report, around 170,000 of the 24 million high net worth individuals around the world reside in India. China still leads in Asia, recording over 800,000 HNWIs. India's growth has yet to reach its peak, however, especially since the study has predicted that the country could see its wealth double to around $6.4 trillion by 2015.

The India business is jointly led by Piyush Surana and Takashi Yamaguchi as chief executives. Surana is the CEO of Daiwa India, while Yamaguchi is the DAM's official representative in the South Asian country.