SYDNEY (Reuters) – Barrenjoey Capital, a boutique Australian investment bank, said on Monday that it will open a Hong Kong office focused on Australian and New Zealand equities sales, trading and research.
The office opening follows Barrenjoey’s acquisition of the Asian business of its strategic alliance partner, Forsyth Barr, the New Zealand investment firm.
Barrenjoey’s head of equities Chris Williams said opening a Hong Kong office would bring the investment bank closer to its Asian client base.
The expansion comes at a time when some international investment banks, wealth managers and law firms have scaled back their Hong Kong operations over the past two years, due to China’s economic slowdown and a stagnant corporate deals market.
The office opening was first reported by Bloomberg News earlier on Monday.
(Reporting by Scott Murdoch; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
