Norwegian investment bank DnB Nor Markets opens Singapore office

DnB Nor Markets, the investment banking division of Norway's DnB Nor Bank ASA, yesterday announced it has set up an equity research and securities sales team in Singapore that will focus on the energy, offshore and maritime (EOM) sectors, in line with the focus at its Oslo headquarters.

The 11-strong team comprises two shipping analysts, two offshore analysts and seven people dedicated to both equities and fixed-income sales and trading. The Singapore office has been built up through transfers from DnB Nor offices as well as hires from other firms.

The equity research team is headed by Thor Andre Lunder. The equity sales team is headed by Tan Hock Meng and the fixed-income sales and trading team is headed by Ng Chee Keen.

Last month the primary stock exchanges in Singapore and Norway -- the Singapore Exchange and Oslo Bors -- signed a memorandum of understanding to promote dual listings of companies which already have a main listing on either exchange. The focus for the listings is on companies in the EOM sectors, which are core for both exchanges.

DnB Nor Markets said in a written statement that its Singapore team will "act as a catalyst" for the dual listings.

DnB Nor Markets is Norway's largest investment bank. In Asia it already has an office in Shanghai, which provides foreign exchange and treasury products and services to customers in China. The bank's Asian operations are headed by Erik Borgen and include two Singapore-based managing directors, Jeff Ang and Joachim Skorge.

The coverage model being adopted by DnB Nor Markets, offering a limited geographical reach but a strong sector focus, is being tried by other firms as well.

One example is Noble, which bills itself as an Anglo-India investment bank. It has offices in Edinburgh and London, with a stated focus on small- and mid-cap companies. Last year the firm also set up an India office in Mumbai where a team of 11 analysts and sales people cover medium-sized Indian companies in specified industries: technology, consumer, banks/financial services, power, and infrastructure. Noble focuses on companies with a market capitalisation of less than $2.5 billion.

Since April this year Noble has had a strategic alliance with UBS, whereby it provides research to global institutional clients of UBS who are investing in India. Noble's research complements UBS's own coverage of the 100 Bombay Stock Exchange companies. Meanwhile, Noble's clients benefit from access to the sales and trading capabilities of UBS.