StandardChartered Plc's Japanese brokerage unit, Standard CharteredSecurities (Japan) Ltd., has begun operations, Bloomberg News reported July 11,citing the unit's president, Taisei Takegami.

The unit has 100 staff that already work in the group'scorporate banking arm in Japan and will perform dual roles, Takegami said. Headded the unit plans to deploy 20 salesmen to meet with Japanese financialcompanies to sell products that invest in developing countries.

Japanese institutional investors have been seeking productsfrom emerging markets in Asia amid dwindling returns from investments at homeand in developed markets.

StanChart's Japanese securities unit also plans to set up aninvestment banking business that will advise local corporate clients andfinancial firms to raise funds in capital markets in Asia, the Middle East andAfrica, Takegami said.