Jefferies is on a hiring spree as it seeks to strengthen its foothold in Asia, focusing specifically on India and Southeast Asia. The American investment bank is bullish on a long-term deal making rebound in China.
Its Asia offices have enjoyed a reasonable amount of success, prompting the firm to embark on a second phase of headcount expansion. It will be “cherry-picking the best of the best”, said Christopher Laskowski, head of Asia investment banking, in an interview.
The company has jumped on hiring opportunities thrown up by the turmoil around Credit Suisse’s takeover by bigger Swiss rival UBS, which led to a slew of departures.
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India’s market has proven to be a bright spot for the firm, said Laskowski. This year the firm has already scored two blockbuster deals worth US$1.38 billion and US$1.87 billion involving the sprawling Adani Group, in which the firm acted as broker.
Jefferies hired its India team just 14 months ago, and has since become the top equity house based on 2023 year-to-date rankings, according to Refinitiv data. That is up from 7th spot in 2022 and 34th in 2019.
![‘China’s going to be OK for us, [but] it’s not going to reach its full potential till next year,’ said Christopher Laskowski, head of Asia investment banking at Jefferies. Photo: SCMP Handout](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2023/07/24/5782549b-ee89-4349-b982-1c8a73a4dc90_49688760.jpg "‘China’s going to be OK for us, [but] it’s not going to reach its full potential till next year,’ said Christopher Laskowski, head of Asia investment banking at Jefferies. Photo: SCMP Handout")
“We’re committed to serving our clients across Asia, with significant new hires recently made in Southeast Asia and India,” said Laskowski.
“We have about 40 bankers sitting here in Hong Kong, as part of a 250 team, actively engaged in Hong Kong and China M&A and equity transactions.”
Laskowski, who joined Jefferies in October 2021, chose to focus on bolstering its coverage of the Greater Bay Area and Southeast Asia markets, and did not rush to expand the team in China as some might have expected.
“The writing was on the wall for China, we knew it was going to be a tough slog,” said Laskowski. “China’s going to be OK for us, [but] it’s not going to reach its full potential till next year. We’ll build a team [in Hong Kong and China] in the meantime.
“The reopening has not been as good as people had hoped, while consumer figures do not look great.”
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The latest data showed China’s economy grew by 6.3 per cent in the second quarter – largely thanks to the coronavirus lockdown-induced low base last year, raising concerns once again about the weaker-than-expected post-Covid recovery.
Despite sluggish momentum, Laskowski said the streets of China were “full of energy” and the firm is “bullish long-term” on China.
“There will be some short-term volatility, but the Chinese people’s entrepreneurial spirit is going to make it work,” he said.
A slump in mergers and acquisitions and the collapse of Credit Suisse have sparked a major turnover in senior managers. Having hired aggressively during better times, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup are among those cutting jobs in major downsizing drives.
Global M&A volumes in the first quarter of 2023 fell nearly 25 per cent year on year to 9,197, while the deal value dropped 47 per cent to US$369.6 billion, according to S&P Global.
Meanwhile, funds raised from new share listings in Hong Kong dropped to a two-decade low in the first half of the year, pushing the city to ninth place in a global ranking of IPO markets, according to Refinitiv. Worldwide IPO proceeds declined 24 per cent.
Laskowski said he expects the most business for the firm to come from a few key sectors: healthcare, tech, consumer, industrial tech, metals and mining, and energy. Unlike larger banks, Jefferies has found its “sweet spot” working on deals in the US$500 million to US$2 billion range.
Besides Jefferies, Deutsche Bank is also hiring several senior staffers from Credit Suisse including Lim Zi-Kuan, former head of mergers and acquisitions for Southeast Asia, and Robert Huray, who will as vice-chairman for the region.
The German lender said it, too, was betting on a rebound in Asian deal-making.
More from South China Morning Post:
- HSBC plans Hong Kong investor summit to fill gap left by Credit Suisse
- UBS brings Credit Suisse CEO Ulrich Koerner on board, names Todd Tuckner CFO as merger nears
- Deutsche Bank bulks up with dozens of new hires, some from rivals, as German lender sets sights on deal making in Asia
- Hong Kong slides into ninth place worldwide for IPOs after fundraising falls to 20-year low in first half of 2023
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