Nomura Shares China Brokerage JV Strategy

Following the relaxation of foreign ownership limits in China, Nomura will seek to launch its joint venture operation in China within 2019 and shares its strategy and view on the market.

According to Nomura Securities, its new 51 percent-owned joint venture will initially focus on the wealth management business before gradually expanding into other areas such as IPO underwriting, equity and fixed income, M&A and asset management.

Although we start with wealth management first, that is not our goal. Our goal is to provide wider financial services, said Iiyama Toshiyasu, executive vice-president of Nomura Securities and chairman of its China committee, in a recent report.

We understand that one business model is not sustainable. We have to combine different areas of business.

We will start everything from the scratch, Iiyama said, referencing the recent loosening of ownership caps in domestic financial institutions. «China’s opening of the financial sector makes us more confident about what we can do in China and what we can contribute to this market.»

Iiyama reiterates the importance for foreign financial institutions to focus on importing their unique strengths. In addition to the brokerage JV, Nomura has also gained license as a wholly foreign-owned private fund manager to raise onshore funds and invest in A-shares.

I believe many international banks will follow suit, Iiyama said. They have their own strength and they will bring that into the Chinese market, which will further broaden and deepen the Chinese market and benefit the Chinese investors and corporations.