Clifford Chance (CC) has recruited capital markets partner Rahul Guptan from leading Indian law firm Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co.

Guptan will join CC's Singapore arm as a member of the firm's India group, bringing the total number of lawyers in the group to 195 across CC's international offices.

The hire comes after the magic circle law firm launched a securities and capital markets group, focusing solely on Indian clients, in Singapore earlier this year.

As previously reported by Legal Week, capital markets partner Edward Bradley will relocate to Singapore in September to help build the new team to include six Indian-trained lawyers from the Singapore and Hong Kong offices.

Guptan, who headed the capital markets practice at Amarchand, joined the firm in 1999 and made partner in April 2006.

CC's global capital markets chief, David Dunnigan, told Legal Week: "Rahul's reputation within and understanding of India's capital markets will be a highly valuable addition to our firm.

"His appointment is a natural step in our plans to further enhance our service to those clients."

Attempts to open up the Indian legal market to foreign law firms recently suffered a setback with the news that the country's upcoming general election is likely to delay the liberalisation process.