Nối bước ANZ, Daiwa sẽ gia tăng tỷ lệ % trong SSI.

Nối bước ANZ, Daiwa sẽ gia tăng tỷ lệ % trong SSI.

Daiwa May Raise Stake in Vietnam''s Saigon Securities (Update2)

By Takahiko Hyuga and Shingo Kawamoto

April 4 (Bloomberg) -- Daiwa Securities Group Inc., Japan''s second-largest securities firm, may increase its stake in Saigon Securities Inc., Vietnam''s biggest publicly traded brokerage.

Daiwa, which bought a 1.25 percent stake in Saigon Securities in July, is in talks with the company to increase the holding, incoming Chairman Akira Kiyota said in an interview in Tokyo yesterday. The Tokyo-based firm wants to strengthen its retail network in Vietnam to underwrite public offerings in one of Asia''s fastest-growing economies, Kiyota said.

Daiwa aims to boost revenue from Asia outside Japan to 100 billion yen ($1 billion) in five years'' time, almost 10 times what it makes in the region now. Rival Japanese firms including Nomura Holdings Inc. are investing to tap expansion in fast- growing economies including Vietnam, India and China.

``It''s positive to see Daiwa strengthen its capital ties to the biggest brokerage in Vietnam, where we can expect high economic growth,'''' said Azuma Ohno, a Tokyo-based analyst at Credit Suisse Group. ``Japanese firms lag U.S. and European banks in China. Now they have a chance to shine in Vietnam and Indonesia.''''

Saigon Securities rose 0.9 percent to 58,500 dong on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange as of 9:23 a.m. local time. Daiwa fell 0.6 percent as of the 11 a.m. trading break in Tokyo.

Matching Nomura

Daiwa opened its first Vietnamese office in Hanoi in October.

``We''re accelerating our move into other Asian markets to match what Nomura and the big banks are doing,'''' said Kiyota, 62, a deputy chairman at Daiwa, who will replace Yoshinari Hara as chairman on June 21. ``Saigon is Vietnam''s biggest retail broker, so we can create the products and sell through Saigon in that market.''''

Daiwa spokesman Ryoji Fuchinoue said the size of the stake under consideration hasn''t yet been decided. Nguyen Hong Nam, deputy general director of Ho Chi Minh City-based Saigon Securities, declined to comment.

Saigon Securities said in January profit tripled last year to 859 billion dong ($53 million) as the Southeast Asian nation''s benchmark stock index rose to a record.

The firm''s shares have lost 65 percent of their value this year as the benchmark VN Index dropped 41 percent on speculation the nation''s financial system is short of cash.

Saigon Securities listed shares on the Ho Chi Minh City bourse in October, after previously trading on Vietnam''s smaller exchange in Hanoi. The company was established in 1999 and received a trading license in 2000, just before Vietnam''s stock market was founded.

The company''s primary businesses include brokerage, trading, and corporate finance, focusing on Vietnam''s market for initial public offerings.

Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. bought a 10 percent stake in Saigon Securities last year for $88 million.

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