Jefferies financial research inks deal with Kasikorn Securities

United States-based global financial firm Jefferies announced last week it had formed an alliance with Thailand’s Kasikorn Securities, owned by the country’s second largest bank, to provide equity research on companies in the Kingdom to institutional investors, while Kasikorn will offer brokerage services to Jefferies’ clients.

“This alliance enhances our Pan-Asia equities platform to provide clients with best-in-class strategy and ideas coupled with market-leading execution and distribution,” said Michael Alexander, Chief Executive Officer of Jefferies Asia. “We are pleased to work with Kasikorn Securities as we strengthen Jefferies’ Pan-Asia equities business to meet the evolving needs of our global institutional clients.”

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index has risen 19.8 percent this year, the largest gain of any index in the Asia-Pacific region, easily outpacing Indonesia’s JSX index, which rose by 15.3 percent, and South Korea’s KOSPI 50, which was up 13.2 percent. The SET now has nearly 600 listed companies with a total market capitalization exceeding $460 billion.

Thailand’s equities markets are becoming increasingly diversified, with a separate exchange solely for startups ready to be launched this year in addition to the existing Market for Alternative Investment, and the Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing to initiate a regulatory sandbox for new financial technologies, or fintech.

Furthermore, several major Thai companies have been expanding and investing further afield, with conglomerates such as Charoen Pokphand acquiring companies in the United States and other markets. All those factors are putting Thai equities more firmly on the radar of institutional investors who require in-depth proprietary research before deciding where to place their funds.

“Jefferies is committed to continuously improving and expanding the firm’s longstanding equity research, sales and trading business with an emphasis on serving the needs of our global institutional client base,” said Peter Forlenza, Global Head of Equities at Jefferies. “Joining with Kasikorn in this alliance is just one of the ways we will continue to strengthen our Asia-Pacific business,” added

Jefferies bills itself as the world’s only independent full-service global investment banking firm. Jefferies’ global equity research business contains a roster of nearly 150 publishing analysts covering more than 2,000 stocks from research centers in Frankfurt, London, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Singapore, Tokyo, Boston, Houston, Nashville, New York and San Francisco.

Kasikorn Securities currently has nine analysts covering over100 stocks. The firm said it plans to offer the largest institutional research coverage in Thailand.