January 12, 2007

Welcome to the Hoover's APAC 50, a monthly list of the companies in the Asia-Pacific region that are most searched on Hoover's. Derived by tracking the search requests of Hoover's subscribers, the Hoover's APAC 50 provides insight on which companies are being watched most closely by corporate executives, as well as sales, marketing, and business development professionals, who represent a large portion of Hoover's customers.

The news behind the biggest movers on this month's Hoover's APAC 50 involves overseas acquisitions and new product launches.

Nomura Holdings, Inc. (From #106 to #48)

Nomura Holdings is hardly a household name in the U.S., but it guards the nest eggs of many Japanese households. The company, which is among the largest banks in Japan, provides a wide range of financial services, including underwriting, asset management, investment consulting and brokerage services. In December the company announced it would buy a 15% stake in Fortress Investment Group, a U.S.-based firm that specializes in private equity, institutional asset management and alternative investments such as hedge funds. (Fortress has announced plans for an IPO.) This comes on the heels of Nomura's November announcement that it would buy the U.S.-based electronic institutional brokerage Instinet.
News | Financials

Hutchison Whampoa Limited (From #65 to #41)

Hong Kong-based trading company Hutchison Whampoa has extensive holdings across 50 countries in retailing, ports, energy, telecommunications and power plants. And construction materials. And toll roads. Plus hotels. Among other things. The company, which traces its roots to the 1860s, made two announcements in December that reflected this diversity. First it said that an oil and gas joint venture with Norsk Hydro had made a substantial strike off the coast of Newfoundland. Then Hutchison Whampoa joined NTT DoCoMo to announce that the two companies would team up to launch an i-mode Internet service in India.
News | Financials