Nomura ahead in equity sales

TOKYO: Nomura Holdings Inc widened its lead in arranging Asia-Pacific stock sales this year after winning mandates from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc and Hitachi Corp valued at a combined $14.5 billion.

Nomura may reap as much as $300 million in fees from the sales by Mitsubishi UFJ, Japan's largest bank by market value, and Hitachi, the country's fourth-biggest company by sales, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Nomura spokeswoman Keiko Sugai declined to comment.

The brokerage overtook UBS AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co this year in the Asia-Pacific region as Japanese companies raised the most in share sales since 2006. The Tokyo-based company remains a laggard in markets such as Hong Kong, even after buying the Asian operations of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc last year, according to Bloomberg data.