TOKYO, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Daiwa Securities Group plans to go on an offensive to hire M&A bankers as a global dealmaking lull allows the major Japanese investment bank to tap top-notch talent, its CEO said.

"Now is our chance, as the M&A (merger and acquisition) market remains battered and many talented bankers have been up for a hunt," Seiji Nakata, CEO of Japan's second-largest brokerage and investment bank, told Reuters in an interview.

Daiwa has set a target of increasing M&A revenue by 50% to at least 70 billion yen ($489.85 million) and the number of M&A bankers to 900 over the next eight years from nearly 700 now.

Globally, companies notched $2.6 trillion of deals by the end of November, putting volume on track for the lowest full-year total since 2014 and well below 2021's $5.7 trillion peak.

"I expect a recovery in the global M&A market around the middle of next year when interest rates start to fall to create a favourable financing environment," Nakata said. "Our chance will stay for another year or a year and a half."

The M&A market will not shrink in the long term as M&A is an indispensable tool for companies to grow their core businesses, Nakata said, citing Nippon Steel's proposed $14.9 purchase of U.S. Steel.

Daiwa announced last month it bought Dublin-based boutique M&A advisory firm IBI Corporate Finance. Other Japanese financial institutions have also bolstered their M&A capabilities recently.

Mizuho Financial Group bought U.S. boutique firm Greenhill for $550 million this year, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group is boosting its stake in Jefferies Financial Group.

In China, Daiwa has seen demand for advising deals where Japanese companies restructure their local businesses or withdraw from them, Nakata said.

He also said Daiwa's majority-owned Chinese joint venture has been building a track record in cross-border deals as well as initial public offerings.

"We want to firmly establish our presence in cross-border deals by leveraging our global networks," he added. ($1 = 142.9000 yen) (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)