NEW YORK, LONDON, HONG KONG and BANGKOK, April 25, 2013 - Jefferies today announced that it is entering into an alliance with Asia Plus Securities Public Company Limited ("Asia Plus"). Under the agreement, Asia Plus will provide equity research on companies in Thailand, which Jefferies will distribute on a co-branded basis to the firm's global base of institutional clients. The alliance, in which Asia Plus will also provide local equity broking services to Jefferies clients, is expected to begin operating before the end of the year.
Asia Plus is one of Thailand's leading financial services firms and offers a wide array of services ranging from equity research, securities brokerage, investment banking, equity derivatives and asset and wealth management. The company is well recognized by both domestic and international clients and has received many awards in the past including "Best Mid-Cap Corporate Finance House Award" by Alpha Magazine in 2011, "Best Securities Company Award" from SET in 2010, "Best Analyst: Property & Construction Materials Sector" by Money & Wealth Magazine for three years during 2008-2010 and most recently, five individual "Awards for Analysts 2012" from the Securities Analysts Association.
"We are pleased to join efforts with Asia Plus Securities to extend our equity research footprint in Southeast Asia by providing access to quality research on Thai companies for the benefit of our global client base. This alliance further adds to Jefferies' best-in-class global equity research and strategy product," commented Michael Alexander, Chief Executive Officer for Jefferies Asia.
"At Jefferies, we are committed to continuously improving and expanding the firm's 50-year equity franchise with a focus on serving the needs of our investor client base globally," added Steven R. Black, Global Head of Equity Research at Jefferies.
"We chose to align with Jefferies given the firm's outstanding track record in equities, and believe that this strategic relationship will significantly increase our equity research business in Thailand by providing broader distribution of our research and strategy product," commented Dr. Kongkiat Opaswongkarn, Chief Executive Officer at Asia Plus.
Jefferies global equity research practice consists of more than 125 analysts covering over 1,550 stocks with research centers in London, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Singapore, Tokyo, Houston, Nashville, New York and San Francisco. Our global coverage includes Economics & Strategy, Business Services, Consumer, Energy, Financial Services, Insurance, Healthcare, Industrials, Internet and Interactive Entertainment, Maritime, Media, Metals & Mining, REITs, Technology, Telecommunications, Travel & Leisure and Utilities.
To find out more about Jefferies equity research capabilities or to receive Jefferies research, please contact your Jefferies representative.
Jefferies, the global investment banking firm focused on serving clients for over 50 years, is a leader in providing insight, expertise and execution to investors, companies and governments. The firm provides a full range of investment banking, sales, trading, research and strategy across the spectrum of equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, futures and commodities, and also select asset and wealth management strategies, in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Jefferies Group LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leucadia National Corporation (NYSE: LUK), a diversified holding company.
