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Lehman Brothers opens Taipei branch

The managing director of Lehman Brothers Investment Banking's new branch in Taiwan, Albert Weng, left, poses with Lehman Brothers' managing director of Equities Asia, Tim Throsby, at the opening ceremony yesterday in Taipei. PHOTO: AP

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc formally opened its Taipei branch yesterday, setting its eyes on the nation's lucrative capital markets, company officials at the fourth-biggest US securities firm said.

Lehman said Taiwan is certain to attract more foreign investment because there's an increasing number of equity and equity-linked deals developing here, following the abolishment of the qualified foreign institution investor program early last month.

In addition, "The gradual economic turnaround here will spur investment demand," said Albert Weng (翁明正), managing director and country manager of Lehman Brothers Inc, Taiwan Branch.

"We expect more Taiwanese companies to raise funds overseas. The demand for issuing corporate bonds and depository receipts will be very strong next year," he said.

Taiwanese firms have raised more than US$13 billion overseas since July. The company said another US$3.5 billion of deals are in the pipeline.

Lehman Brothers foresees more acquisition and mergers locally.

"There will be more mergers next year. It's a unavoidable trend to boost economic scale as most local financial companies lag far behind their Asian rivals," Weng said.

The firm is very bullish about Taiwan and expects GDP growth of 6 percent next year.

``China is the primary driver of Taiwan growth,'' Rob Subbaraman, the firm's senior economist for Asia, said in a statement.

"Taiwan is arguably benefiting more now than any other country in the world from the rapid growth and opening of the Chinese economy,'' he said.

The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, said in August that Taiwan is expected to see economic growth of 3.53 percent this year and 4.5 percent next year.

Lehman Brothers first set foot in Taiwan in 1988 by setting up a representative office. By opening a branch here, it can now trade in all listed securities on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and the over-the-counter market. The company also offers research services and has recruited 10 analysts with special focuses on Taiwan's technology, finance and telecommunications industries, said Tim Throsby, the firm's head of equities in Asia.
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