Swiss derivatives firm Leonteq is opening another Asian office, its third after Singapore and Hong Kong. The unit's new head tells finews.com what is behind the move.
Leonteq is beefing up its presence in Asia with the opening of an office in Tokyo, the Zurich-based firm said in a statement on Friday. The new onshore Japanese business, Leonteq's third in Asia, after Singapore and Hong Kong, will be headed by Satoshi Kubo, a 15-year veteran of Goldman Sachs.
Hamstrung by years of ultra-low or negative interest rates, savers in Japan are increasingly turning to alternatives like foreign derivatives such as those sold by Leonteq for returns.
«Japan has become one of the biggest markets for structured products globally. Most of the demand is coming from equity-focused investors asking for products such as fixed coupon notes», Kubo told finews.com.
Back to Normality
For Leonteq, the Japanese push represents a further step back to normality after it fell to earth last year. Since then, its CEO and chairman have stepped down, and new management, led by finance chief Marco Amato for several months, has restored investor trust. New CEO Lukas Ruflin begins next week.
Asia is the main beneficiary of Leonteq's investments, Amato told finews.com two months ago. The region was responsible for the firm's hottest growth rate last year. Leonteq didn't disclose its specific growth targets in Japan.
International Ideas
Kubo, the Japan head, said that Leonteq has already acquired 10 major securities firms as clients. The office currently employs four people for the Japanese market.
«We may need operational support in Tokyo but are not going to rush into hiring more sales staff for now», Kubo said. The banker joined Leonteq two years ago, and has covered the Japanese market from Hong Kong thus far. «Japanese clients are happy with our products, we have spent almost two years marketing to them and they like us introducing our own ideas and international products,» Kubo said.
