Exclusive-Morgan Stanley closing Indonesian onshore equities business

[May 27, 2021]  By Scott Murdoch and Anshuman Daga

HONG KONG/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley is closing its Indonesian onshore institutional equities trading business, the investment bank said on Thursday in response to queries from Reuters.

 The corporate logo of financial firm Morgan Stanley is pictured on a building in San Diego, California, Sept. 24, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Morgan Stanley said in a statement that it "intends to cease its onshore broker-dealer activities in Indonesia. The firm remains committed to Indonesia and will continue to provide our global clients access to the equity market working with qualified local brokerage partners."

Sources familiar with the decision said the move will affect about 10 roles and the investment bank will carry out sales, trading and research functions from its Southeast Asian hub of Singapore.

The onshore Indonesian equities business was opened in 2012 following an announcement by Morgan Stanley's CEO James Gorman in November 2011 while he was visiting Jakarta. He had said in a statement that growing the firm's business in Indonesia was an "important strategic priority and commitment" for the bank.

Morgan Stanley said on Thursday that its research coverage will also be provided offshore from Singapore but added that PT Morgan Stanley Sekuritas Indonesia will continue to serve the investment banking clients onshore.

(Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Hong Kong and Anshuman Daga in Singapore; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

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