BNP Paribas announces exclusive APAC equity research agreement with Morningstar
BNP Paribas announced today a pioneering agreement with Morningstar, a leading independent investment research provider, to source equity research in APAC for its buy-side clients.
Under the terms of the agreement, BNP Paribas will source independent equity research from Morningstar in five key territories, excluding India. This will consist of around 150 stocks in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea and Taiwan across six key sectors: financials, real estate, consumer, TMT, energy / natural resources and healthcare. BNP Paribas will be the exclusive sell-side cash equities provider distributing this Morningstar research to the buy-side in APAC. Collectively, the relationship will bring BNP Paribas’ total coverage in the region to around 330 stocks including India, where it will continue to undertake equity research in-house.
With recent changes in regulatory and market conditions, banks have sought to adapt their sell-side cash equity research models, while continuing to meet clients’ needs. In this context, BNP Paribas’ announcement pioneers a new and innovative model in APAC that is sustainable and scalable, while enabling it to continue to provide clients with high quality, fundamental research.
Moreover, the relationship will enable BNP Paribas to strengthen its equity distribution platform and further grow its Equity Capital Markets (ECM) franchise in Asia. In addition, the relationship mirrors BNP Paribas’ successful set-up in EMEA where Exane BNP Paribas, Europe’s #1 ranked equity research house according to Extel, has operated in partnership with BNP Paribas Corporate and Institutional Bank for more than 15 years.
Hugo Leung, CEO of BNP Paribas Securities, said: “today’s announcement represents an innovative change to how we undertake cash equity research for the buy-side in APAC. The new model enables us to continue delivering what our clients want – strong, credible research in existing and new companies that they are interested in investing in – with the advantage of scalability as our clients’ needs evolve.
“This should ensure the long-term sustainability of our business model and underpin our strong ambitions in cash equities and ECM, both of which we remain fully committed to. Furthermore, we remain fully committed to continuing to provide top quality research across multi-asset classes to our clients in all major markets across the region, and we are pleased to work with Morningstar in this context.”
Lorraine Tan, Director of Equity Research for Asia, Morningstar, said: “Morningstar stands unique in our commitment to providing research that delivers an independent view on stocks from the investor’s perspective. We applaud the vision of BNP Paribas in turning to our strong equity research capability. The agreement with a sell-side cash equity and capital markets provider in Asia.”
Press contact:
Andrew Achimu +852 2108 5457 andrew.achimu@uk.bnpparibas.com