The company said its Shanghai office will focus on researching companies in mainland China. The Shanghai-based analysts will be an integral part of Nomura Asset Management’s global research team that spans Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the US, and the UK.

Nomura Asset Management chairman and CEO Toshihiro Iwasaki said China’s strong growth and solid fundamentals offer investors a broad set of investment opportunities.

"Research is a high priority for us so we are excited to have a local presence in China that will allow us to identify promising Chinese companies. The new office is another step in our strategy of building a world-class asset management firm with a strong competitive edge in Asia," Iwasaki said.

Nomura has been building up its asset management capabilities outside Japan, with a particular focus on Asia.

The company has moved into Islamic finance in Malaysia and recently set up a joint venture in India with LIC, India’s largest life insurer, which offers mutual funds to retail investors in India.

As of 31 March 2011, Nomura’s Asset Management division had assets under management of around US$300bn.