[By NBC-1TV H. J Yook]Jefferies today announced that it is entering into a cooperation agreement with JB Securities (Pvt) Limited to distribute JB Securities equity research on companies in Sri Lanka on a co-branded basis to Jefferies’ global institutional client base.

JB Securities provides comprehensive equities research and stock brokering services in Sri Lanka. The firm is a member of the Colombo Stock Exchange and is part of the Jafferjee Brothers Group.

Over the last year, Jefferies has formed similar alliances in South Korea, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand to broaden Jefferies' equity research offering to its global client base. These alliances now include more than 50 analysts covering some 315 companies in the region.

Michael Alexander, Chief Executive Officer of Jefferies Asia, commented, “We are pleased to align with JB Securities as we continue to grow our Pan-Asian equities business to better serve our diverse and global client base. We continue to expand our business across the region with a focus on delivering top-tier and targeted research coupled with superior execution and distribution.”

“This alliance demonstrates Jefferies’ strong commitment to serving our clients with best-in-class research and execution capabilities globally," added Peter Forlenza, Global Head of Equities at Jefferies.

Murtaza Jafferjee, Chairman and CEO of JB Securities, commented, “We are excited to partner with Jefferies to deliver our research product to a broader institutional client base.”