Nomura, a leading global investment bank headquartered in Japan, launched Saudi-specific products, especially swap or exchange traded funds (EFTs) designed for international investors to access Saudi markets, said Kenichi Watanabe, president and CEO, Nomura Group currently visiting the Kingdom. Watanabe was in Riyadh Tuesday to announce the official opening of Nomura branch, the first Asian securities firm to provide investment-banking services to various segments in Saudi Arabia. “We are formulating Saudi-specific product plans as we speak and especially launch swap or exchange traded funds (EFTs) that allow international investors to access Saudi markets,” Watanabe, who long yearned to open Nomura branch in Saudi Arabia, said. He said about half of $1 billion equity fund that Nomura raised in 2008 for Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region was for Saudi market. “We claim ourselves as one of the largest equity players in the region,” Watanabe said while speaking at a press conference in Riyadh, Tuesday. Takuya Furuya, chairman, Nomura Saudi Arabia was also present. Watanabe said Nomura has received securities license from Capital Market Authority (CMA) in July 2009. Nomura will offer corporate finance, capital markets and wealth management services for clients in Saudi Arabia and acts as an agent for overseas securities, he added. “We have started marketing to potential Saudi and international clients and have been extremely pleased with the levels of interest we receive to our offers,” he said. Watanabe said Nomura has been acting as a gateway for Saudi-based clients to global markets offering them access to major institutions in Asia and other financial centers worldwide. “It makes perfect sense for us to have a presence in the Kingdom given that it is the largest economy in the region, with over 50 percent of the total GCC's GDP. Saudi Arabia, ranked as one of the easiest nations to start a business with and has an increasingly open economy and offers a very hospitable investment environment,” Watanabe said. He said among the GCC countries, Saudi Arabia has been the largest trading partner of Japan. Besides strong bilateral relations between the two governments, he said a large number of Japanese companies have already entered the Saudi market, particularly in areas such as the petrochemicals, water desalination and power generation among others. Since 2006, Asia has been the largest trading partner of countries in the Gulf countries that include Saudi Arabia, he said. He said as of last year, Asia accounted for over 50 percent of the total GCC trade that amounted to $758 billion. Asia and Middle East have much in common, he said as markets emerge and liberalize.
