Nomura Securities Malaysia is the sixth special scheme broker to be established in Malaysia.

In a statement last Friday, Nomura said its new cash equities business was expected to encourage greater flow of funds into Malaysia from Nomura's global network, including from Japan and the Middle East, and promote the Malaysian capital market to global investors.

Nomura also recently received a licence to provide investment banking and capital markets services in Qatar in the Middle East, complementing its existing businesses in Bahrain, Dubai, and Riyadh.

As such, Nomura said it was now well positioned to further support the Malaysian capital markets and promote Islamic financial instruments.

In addition to the licence, Nomura will also be registered as a participating organisation with Bursa Malaysia Securities, and will be able to trade Malaysian equities for its Malaysian and global clients.

Nomura's head of equities Asia-Pacific, Siggi Thorkelsson, said: "The commencement of a cash equities business in Malaysia with a focus on Middle East investors represents another milestone in our ambition to create the leading Asia-Pacific equities house with global capabilities and reach backed by a strong research platform."

"Nomura has had a presence in Malaysia since 1993 with a particular focus on providing corporate advisory services to Malaysian institutions. The announcement today is further evidence of Nomura's strong commitment to grow its business in Malaysia and link Asia with the Middle East and the rest of the world," he said.