Daiwa opens for business in Russia

Financial News

Jason Corcoran in Moscow
15 October 2007


Japanese investment bank Daiwa Securities SMBC has appointed five staff to its Moscow operation, which launched last week.

The Russian representative office, which is supported by the bank’s European subsidiary in London, is headed by Yasuhiro Ota.

A Russian speaker, Ota was seconded from Daiwa’s Tokyo business, which he joined in 1987.

New Zealander Matthew Parker, a Daiwa director in London, has been named head of business development. Russians Mikhail Kharlamov, Vladimir Boyko and Katerina Zasetskaya join as business development manager, analyst and office manager, respectively.

Daiwa, Japan’s leading initial public offering bookrunner, will focus on servicing Japanese clients working in Russia and support the London team on Russian business in equity and debt underwriting, corporate finance advisory work, and mergers and acquisitions.

Japanese rival Nomura reopened its Moscow office in May, nine years after pulling out of Russia in the wake of the 1998 financial crisis, when it lost $600m (€423m).

Japanese investment banks Mizuho Corporate Bank and Mitsubishi UFG are also plotting a push into the increasingly crowded Russian market. Last week, the Bank of Cyprus opened its first Moscow branch, targeting the corporate market. The group will seek to take advantage of the fact that Cyprus was the biggest source of foreign direct investment into Russia last year, with a 22.6% share.