Japan's Nikko Group yesterday announced it was closing down its entire SAR operation with the loss of almost 100 jobs.
The decision by Japan's third-largest brokerage to end all securities and futures dealing in the SAR follows a series of sackings which reduced staff from about 180 to less than 100, spurring rumours a closure was imminent.
Company insiders said the main reason behind the closure was August's $12 billion joint-venture share swap agreement between Nikko and financial giant Travelers Group of the United States.
Travelers - recently merged with Citibank - owns Salomon Smith Barney which has about 350 employees in Hong Kong, leading to considerable duplication in the securities and futures arms.
'Since Travellers took a stake in Nikko it has been pretty obvious that they do not need two securities companies,' one source said.
In February, Nikko closed its fixed-income and mergers and acquisitions departments and reduced other operations, cutting 40 jobs.
