CLSA plans to start trading platforms in S-E Asia

[HONG KONG] CLSA Ltd's broker-dealer unit plans off-exchange electronic equity trading systems in South-east Asian countries and hopes its new owner, Citic Securities Co, will help it offer clients access to Chinese markets. The firm is examining the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore for crossing networks, Andy Maynard, CLSA's global head of trading and execution, said.

The acquisition by Beijing-based Citic may allow CLSA to give its clients access to China through the qualified foreign institutional investor programme, he said.

"I think people look at CLSA purely for events like" last week's CLSA Investor Forum, which hosted soccer star David Beckham as a keynote speaker, Mr Maynard said. "Which, epic as it is, I'd like us to be known as a broker, and a broker-dealer and a very good broker-dealer, rather than a research house, which we've been known as for a long long time."