By Jason Ng
KUALA LUMPUR--Malaysia's RHB Investment Bank Bhd and Espirito
Santo Investment Bank of Portugal agreed Wednesday to distribute
equities research and other services in regions where the two
investment banks have footprints.
Under the partnership, Espirito Santo, a unit of Banco Espirito
Santo SA (BES.LB), will distribute RHB's Southeast Asian equities
research and investment banking products in Europe and North
America, according to a statement. RHB in turn, will sell
Espirito's European and Indian equity research to Southeast Asian
investors.
The collaboration also includes advisory services for
cross-border mergers and acquisitions as well as debt capital
markets.
"We are very confident that we will be able to generate
important synergies with RHB given the complementarity of our
geographical footprints," said Jose Maria Ricciardi, chief
executive of Espirito Santo Investment Bank. The partnership will
be "particularly relevant" for its operations in Europe, Africa and
the Americas, he said.
For RHB Investment Bank--a unit of Malaysia's fourth-largest
bank by assets, RHB Capital Bhd (1066.KU)--the deal will broaden
its reach into the European and North American markets, said Mike
Chan, CEO of RHB Investment Bank. There is "little" overlap in
terms of product split for both banks, making the partnership "very
complementary," he added.
Write to Jason Ng at jason.ng@wsj.com
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