Japanese investment banking firm Nomura has appointed Mark Williams as managing director, head of equity capital markets (ECM) for Asia ex-Japan.

Mr Williams joins Nomura from UBS where he was most recently head of Asia equity capital markets.

Based in Hong Kong, Mr Williams will cover clients across Asia ex-Japan, including Australasia. He will report to Patrick Schmitz-Morkramer, head of investment banking, Asia ex-Japan locally, and globally to Ken Brown, global head of ECM.

Mr Schmitz-Morkramer said: “Mark’s experience and reputation as one of the top ECM bankers in Asia will be instrumental in taking our ECM franchise to the next level.

“Equity capital raised in Asia ex-Japan in the first half of this year has already surpassed the amount raised in EMEA or in the US, and the deal flow is expected to remain strong. We are excited about the market opportunities here and ECM is definitely an area that Nomura is committed to building out as a firm.”