Nomura expands non-Japan Asia banking team

Nomura, the pre-eminent global investment bank, announced the appointment of six senior bankers to its Non-Japan Asia investment banking team, emphasising the firm's commitment to expanding its coverage and strengthening its offering to clients in the region.

Marc Benton joined Nomura as managing director, head of Natural Resources investment banking. Previously, he served as group head of Asia Pacific Energy, Power and Chemicals investment banking at Citigroup in Hong Kong. Prior to Benton's relocation to Hong Kong in early 2004 to build the firm's energy sector business in Asia Pacific, he spent six years with Citigroup in London primarily advising clients based in Russia and Central and Eastern Europe. Prior to Citigroup, he worked in Oil and Gas investment banking for Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, based in London and Moscow. Mr. Benton received a European Master of Business Science from the Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Clermont Ferrand, and a BCom in Commerce and French from the University of Birmingham.

Shaheryar Chishty joined Nomura as managing director, head of industrial investment banking. Previously, he served as head of the Asian Industrials Group at Citigroup in Hong Kong, where he was responsible for the engineering, metals and mining, transport, automotives, general manufacturing, construction and heavy industry sectors in Non-Japan Asia. Prior to that, Chishty led merger and acquisition efforts for Citigroup in North Asia. Mr. Chishty received a BA in Economics and French from Ohio Wesleyan University in the United States.

Robert Chiu joined Nomura as managing director, head of Telecommunications, Media and Technology investment banking. Previously, he served as Regional head of Technology, Media and Telecommunications investment banking, Asia Pacific, and Chairman of Taiwan investment banking for Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong. Prior to that, he was regional head of Technology investment banking, Asia-Pacific for the firm. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, Chiu was an executive director focused on Technology, Media and Telecommunications transactions at Goldman Sachs where he worked for five years in Menlo Park, California, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Mr. Chiu has a Master of Management degree from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from National Taiwan University.

Neeraj Hora joined Nomura as managing director, head of Equity-Linked Solutions. Most recently, he was responsible for West Coast equity-linked coverage of Technology, Media and Healthcare companies for Barclays Capital (and previously Lehman Brothers) in San Francisco and Menlo Park, California. Prior to joining Lehman Brothers, Mr. Hora originated Convertible Bonds and Structured Equity Derivative transactions for JP Morgan in New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Mr. Hora received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics (B.A.) from Bombay University, India and an MBA from Cornell University.

Apurva Choudhary joined Nomura as executive director, head of Power and Utilities investment banking, based in Singapore. Previously, he served as Head of Regional Power and Utilities at JP Morgan, covering Asia. Prior to that, he was responsible for Utilities and Infrastructure investment banking origination and execution in Southeast Asia for the firm. Choudhary has an MBA and a post-graduate diploma in management from the India Institute of Management, Bangalore, and a B.Sc. with honors from Delhi University, Kirori Mal College, India.

Mark Bendall joined Nomura as executive director, head of Metals and Mining investment banking. Previously, he served as Director of the Natural Resources Group of Deutsche Bank AG London. Prior to that, he was a vice president in the Natural Resources Group in the firm's Melbourne office. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, Mr. Bendall was a Vice President in the General Industrials and Services Group for Credit Suisse in London. Mr. Bendall received a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Bachelor of Engineering Degree with honors from the University of Melbourne.

Glenn H. Schiffman, head of Investment Banking, Non-Japan Asia, for Nomura, commented: "We are extremely pleased that Marc, Shaheryar, Robert, Neeraj, Apurva and Mark have joined Nomura. They are highly regarded in Asia, the US and Europe for their work executing high-profile transactions across a range of investment banking products and services. The depth of their experience and strength of their relationships will be a tremendous asset to Nomura as we build our investment banking capability in the region."

According to the latest Thomson Reuters M&A rankings, Nomura ranks No. 1 by value in Asia ex-Japan completed deals;  No. 2 by value in Chinese announced and completed deals; and No. 1 in Japan by value in announced and completed deals.