LUXEMBOURG-BASED bank Clearstream, which specialises in international securities clearing and fund custody, will aggressively expand in Asia this year to cope with the strong growth in the region.
Clearstream, the international central securities depository in the Deutsche Borse Group, has offices in Luxembourg, Frankfurt, New York, London and Dubai, and is set to add one each in Singapore and Tokyo by the end of the year. Together with an existing office in Hong Kong, half of the bank's regional offices will be in Asia.
'This reflects the importance of the region that we have four offices in Asia-Pacific,' said Philippe Metoudi, who has headed Clearstream in Asia and the Middle East since 1992.
'Asia is clearly one of the world's engines of growth. We are delighted to see the exceptional growth in activity throughout the region, particularly in the area of collateral management services from existing clients and from new customers. We need people to support our business, so we have decided to open an office in Singapore to cope with our largest growing market,' he said.
Mr Metoudi said Singapore, which had a smaller market than Hong Kong 15 years ago, had come up with lots of initiatives, especially in funds and foreign exchange, and had caught up to a comparable size in recent years.
After more than a decade of sluggish economic growth, Tokyo was on the rise again and ripe for cultivating new customers.
