Nomura has made two executive director-level appointments to its debt capital markets team, according to internal bank memos seen by FinanceAsia.
The Japanese bank hired Jonathan Yip as executive director and head of China DCM, according to one of the memos. Yip reported to duty on Monday and will be based in Hong Kong.
Nomura has also hired Shantanu Sahai as an executive director of Asia ex-Japan DCM, according to a separate memo. Sahai joined the bank July 28 and will be based in India.
Yip will report to Clay Carol, head of Asia ex-Japan DCM and debt syndicate. Carol co-signed the appointment memos with Neeraj Hora, Nomura’s head of global finance in Asia ex-Japan.
Meanwhile, Sahai will report locally to Utpal Oza, head of India investment banking. He will report regionally to Carol.
Before joining Nomura, Yip was head of Asia high yield debt capital markets at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He joined the US bank in 2011 and was responsible for China high-yield bond origination and execution.
Yip started his career in debt capital markets with Credit Suisse in 2004, where he stayed seven years before moving to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
In the newly-created role of head of China DCM, Yip will oversee the origination and execution of high yield, investment grade and leveraged finance transactions from Chinese clients.
Sahai’s most recent mandate was with Barclays as a director of corporate finance. Before joining Barclays in 2004 as an associate, he was part of Deutsche Bank’s DCM team for three years.
During his years at Barclays and Deutsche Bank, Sahai was responsible for executing structured financing, leverage financing products as well as both debt and equity capital markets transactions.
Nomura is hoping the new appointments will bolster the bank’s capacity for debt capital markets transactions, which have traditionally been dominated by Chinese banks.
Nomura has held an estimated 0.3% share of the Asia ex-Japan debt capital market over the past three years, according to data provider Dealogic. In 2015, the Japanese bank completed 25 deals and ranked 69th in Asia ex-Japan DCM league tables, slipping from 68th place last year.
Nomura has participated in several high profile bond deals in recent years including Sinopec’s $3.5 billion US dollar bond in 2013, Asian Development Bank’s $1.25 billion global bond in 2012, and Woori Bank’s $1 billion 10-year Basel III-compliant note last year.
