Asian investment bank Nomura would establish a permanent branch in South Africa, the group announced on Tuesday.

Jan Newman, formerly of Newman Lowther & Associates, was appointed head of Nomura South Africa and head of investment banking in South Africa. Ben Lowther was appointed co-head of investment banking in South Africa.

The group said in a statement that the establishment of Nomura South Africa on April 4 would enhance Nomura’s ability to provide local and international clients with investment banking services in the country and provide Nomura with a platform for expansion into and across sub-Saharan Africa.

The appointments allowed Newman and Lowther to continue their successful partnership under the Nomura umbrella, underpinned by over 40 years’ combined experience working at Newman Lowther & Associates, and an established track record in domestic and cross-border merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions in the region.

Nomura South Africa would focus on providing a relevant and tailored range of investment banking and risk solution services to further support its current and new clients in the region.

The team would combine its strong local knowledge and execution capabilities with access to Nomura’s global network across multiple industries and geographies, including its highly active consumer, retail, industrial and natural resources sector teams.

Nomura had a strong track record of M&A and advisory in South Africa, having advised and financed private equity firm Brait on its acquisition of UK fashion retailer New Look in 2015, as well as acting as financial adviser to Coca-Cola Sabco on the proposed creation of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, which was announced in 2014.

“South Africa is a key economic hub on the African continent and global investors and corporates are increasing investment in the region. The establishment of Nomura South Africa will expand our global footprint and in-country capabilities in investment banking; and enable us to provide our clients with direct access to and insights on growth opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa,” Nomura head of the Middle East, Europe and Africa Jonathan Lewis said.