Mamata Banerjee named among world's 50 most influential leaders in finance

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee figures in the list of 50 most influential people in the world of finance as rated by Bloomberg Markets magazine.

"Her Trinamool Congress party, part of the ruling coalition, has stalled Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's economic reform agenda by opposing foreign retailers. Banerjee, 57, won a landslide in West Bengal in 2011 to end 34 years of communist rule," the magazine said in its October issue. Mamata has been ranked in the 21st position.

Following the Trinamool Congress leader's opposition to multi-brand retail in India, the UPA government was forced to defer its decision on the vexed issue.

Reacting to the honour given to Mamata, Trinamool spokesperson and MP Derek O'Brien said, "This proves that she has successfully taken the issues of the common man onto the global stage."

The list also includes names like American business magnate Warren Buffett, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Hyundai's chairman Chung Mong Koo and America Movil's chairman Carlos Slim.

Banerjee found place in the policy-makers section of the list where she shares space with US Federal Reserve chairman Ben S Bernanke, European Central Bank's president Mario Draghi and Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The international magazine said the selection was made on the ability of the leader to move markets or shape ideas and policies and his or her clout to affect the price of a security or the structure of a deal.

The list also includes two persons of Indian origin – Anshu Jain, co-CEO of Deutsche Bank and Preet Bharara, who has won a series of insider-trading cases as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

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