(NH Investment & Securities)

NH Investment & Securities said Wednesday that it has incorporated its office in London to oversee the brokerage’s entire operations in Europe, seven years after it first opened a branch there to expand alternative investments like private equity and real estate.

“This new office in London will be the bridge connecting markets in South Korea, the UK and Europe,” said Jeong Young-chae, the company’s president and chief executive officer.

NH Investment and Securities Europe, as the London office is officially called, will gradually expand businesses to include brokering deals involving not only stocks and bonds but funds and investments involving real estate and infrastructure worldwide, the company said.

South Korean investors, the company added, will also be given the opportunity to take part in deals the London office handles.

The latest overseas expansion shows local securities firms are eyeing beyond the Asia-Pacific region to diversity their revenue stream. NH Investment & Securities is set to compete with three other local rivals like Mirae Asset Securities in London.

“It’s too early to tell where our strength lies compared with the other South Korean companies there. But it won’t take us much time to find that out and sharpen up the edge as we seek a greater footprint in Europe,” a NH Investment & Securities official said.

By Choi Si-young (siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com)