Last week Nomura Holdings Inc. announced its search for a partner in China to help it establish an equity underwriting business. The brokerage house, Japan's largest, also declared its goal to take in 50% of revenue from outside Japan by 2011, up from 30%.

These announcements come just as the equities market in China is starting to heat back up. Two weeks ago we discussed in the ChinaVest newsletter the re-introduction of IPOs to the Chinese markets. This week, Guilin Sanjin Pharmaceutical Co received bids for 584 times the number of shares available in the electronic traunche for China's first IPO in 2009. The Shanghai Composite Index, the world's second-best performing major benchmark, is up 70% since January. Some projections indicate that Chinese companies could raise up to US$2.5 billion in local equity offerings in the second half of 2009. Nomura's announcement indicates their desire for a piece of that US$2.5 billion dollar pie. "We want to be able to underwrite equity transactions in China, so we're looking for joint venture partners. It's a very important agenda," commented a Nomura spokesman.

Nomura is not alone in their desire to take advantage of the apparent renaissance of China's equity market. Both Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank recently received approvals for securities ventures that can underwrite offerings in Shanghai and Shenzhen.