Banque AIG Securities plans to set up a desk to issue privately placed securities in Japan. The Japanese securities arm of American International Group has hired Jeremy Kloiser-Jones, head of equity derivatives marketing for Japan at JPMorgan, to lead the effort. The desk will pitch structured products, including structured equity products, privately placed convertible bonds and private investments in public equity (PIPEs) deals. John Enderle and Shiochi Shiraishi, equity derivative marketers at JPMorgan in Tokyo, are also joining to work under Kloiser-Jones.
"There's been incredible growth in this area in the last 12 months due to greater client awareness," said Kloiser-Jones, commenting on PIPEs. He added, "I'm extremely excited to get this business started." Kloiser-Jones, a veteran of the Tokyo market and a Japanese speaker, headed the equity derivatives marketing effort for Lehman Brothers before moving to JPMorgan last year (DW, 4/18/04).
The current investigation into AIG in the U.S. and the ouster of Hank Greenberg, chairman, should not impact the securities side of the business in Japan, according to Kloiser-Jones. He thinks AIG's flexibility and large balance sheet will allow it to take on more established players in the structured equity products.
Kloiser-Jones and Enderle join as managing directors and Shiraishi as v.p. The team will start in mid-May and report to Nigel Pentland, ceo in Tokyo. Mika Watanabe, spokeswoman at JPMorgan in Tokyo, declined comment.
