Nomura becomes primary dealer in India

Nomura Fixed Income Securities Private Ltd has been granted a Primary Dealer license by the Reserve Bank of India, becoming Nomura's flagship entity in India to pursue trading and activities in the Indian fixed income market.

Speaking on this important occasion, Vikas Sharma, President and CEO of Nomura India, said, "The PD license will enable our strong fixed income team to leverage their expertise for the benefit of our clients in the Indian market, where we offer clients end-to-end financial solutions. This important milestone in the buildout of Nomura's Indian operations adds significant fixed income activities to our burgeoning franchises in equities, investment banking, and asset management."

Nomura's Head of Equities and Fixed Income, Liquid Markets for India, Pankaj Vaish, commented on the milestone. "India is a very important market for Nomura. That is why we are launching our fixed income business with a very strong team that had a large market share in the past. Using our global technical expertise, we expect to be market leaders in the new products being rolled out in India," he said.

"NFIS will be Nomura's flagship entity in India to pursue trading and client-related activities in the Indian fixed income market. India's fixed income market is arguably the second largest in Asia (after Japan) and this foray affirms Nomura's commitment to be a leading player in the capital markets in Asia ex-Japan," he added.

This entity will permit Nomura to access and trade Indian interest rate risk via underwriting and distributing government bonds as well as trading in local currency interest rate swaps. The newly launched interest rate futures contract as well as the awaited introduction of a STRIPS market is expected to complete the width of products available to clients. This will complement Nomura's expertise and lead role in trading these sets of products in other markets in Asia, including Japan and Korea.

The head of Global Fixed Income for Nomura, Tarun Jotwani, said, "Nomura has been actively building its global fixed income franchise as it transforms into a top global investment bank. In a very short period of time we have built tremendous momentum in our fixed income businesses across Europe, the USA and Asia, in addition to our dominant Japanese franchise. Obtaining a primary dealership in India is a further step towards deepening our fixed income market presence in Asia. We are fortunate to have such an experienced team in India and expect to be a dominant player in this market."