Leading securities house expands regional base in Hong Kong

Leading securities house, Core Pacific-Yamaichi International (HK) Limited (Core Pacific-Yamaichi) has chosen Hong Kong as its regional base because of the city's unbeatable advantages as the leading financial centre in the region.

The company ranked first for the number of IPOs it sponsored in Hong Kong last year.

After evaluating alternative cities, Core Pacific-Yamaichi has decided to keep its headquarters in Hong Kong.

The Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong, Mr. Mike Rowse, welcomed the firm's decision to stay and expand in Hong Kong.

Core Pacific-Yamaichi's operations in Hong Kong include 12 brokerage branches and an e-financial services unit, currently employing some 350 staff. The company will hire more local talent in the next few months as part of its expansion plan.

"Our operation in Hong Kong will become very important strategically for our future expansion in the Greater China region," Mr Fu added.

"As an industry leader specialising in the growing middle market, Core Pacific-Yamaichi will play a key role in maintaining Hong Kong as the prime fund raising centre for the Mainland."

Mr Rowse said that China's accession to the WTO would allow greater foreign ownership in key sectors like telecommunications, banking and insurance. Restructured mainland companies will increasingly rely on equity finance for expansion in order to prepare for intensified foreign competition. Hong Kong provides the most convenient overseas market for mainland Chinese enterprises seeking to list.

Hong Kong is the single largest source of foreign capital for mainland enterprises, having raised so far more than US$80 billion for such companies.

"Hong Kong provides an independent judicial system based on English common law, a solid and transparent regulatory framework, a large pool of qualified financial professionals, as well as the free flow of capital and information. These competitive edges make Hong Kong the ideal place for business development, for international investment banks and securities houses in the Greater China region," said Mr. Rowse.

"Hong Kong is a city that offers a myriad of opportunities for financial services providers such as Core Pacific-Yamaichi. We sincerely hope that the company will further intensify its business activities in Hong Kong."

http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/brandhk/0606187.htm


Securities houses may expand in mainland

Core Pacific Securities has already opened a representative office and a financial consulting firm in Shanghai. It is expected to get another license to open a representative office in Beijing and become the only Taiwanese securities firm with two stock brokerage licenses in the mainland.

Executives of Core Pacific Securities said the imminent participation in the World Trade Organization by the mainland and the new changes in relationship between Taiwan and the mainland after the presidential elections in Taiwan in March will give new momentum to further economic cooperation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Core Pacific Yamaichi Securities, the Hong Kong subsidiary of Core Pacific Securities, has already assisted several mainland Chinese companies getting listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange. It is currently helping 13 other high-tech companies in the mainland achieve the same goal.

In addition to Core Pacific, five other securities companies in Taiwan have opened representative offices in Shanghai.

http://www.taiwanheadlines.gov.tw/20000301/20000301b5.html


Core Pacific Securities purchases Yamaichi International (H.K.) Ltd.

Taiwan's two largest brokerages, Core Pacific Securities (CPS) and Capital Securities, recently gained approval from China's central bank to open representative offices in Shanghai's Pudong area. They are the first Taiwanese securities firms allowed direct access to the mainland market. The two firms will conduct their trading operations in Shanghai through overseas-based subsidiaries. In a bid to become a regional financial force, CPS also agreed to buy the 121-staff Yamaichi International (HK) Ltd., a Hong Kong unit of Yamaichi Securities of Japan, which went bankrupt last November. CPS also plans to open an office in Tokyo, creating a "bridge" between Japanese investors and Chinese and Taiwanese companies.