The move is designed to help Chinese and US clients’ capital markets and advisory needs.

Stifel Financial Corp, the business that bought Barclays’ wealth arm in the US three years ago, has turned its attention eastwards by inking a partnership with Hong Kong’s Everbright Sun Hung Kai Company.

The arrangement is designed to help Chinese and US clients’ advisory and capital markets' needs, the firm said. The arrangement, which extends to all Stifel-owned companies, will focus on cross-border cooperation on everything from private capital raising, to new issue listings, and mergers and acquisitions.

The quickening pace of capital-raising in Asia and cross-border mergers and acquisitions volumes has created a need for such a service, Brad Raymond, global head of investment banking at Stifel, said. "As companies increasingly think more globally, being able to leverage the local market expertise of Everbright Sun Hung Kai in Asia makes our value proposition to clients that much stronger,” he added.

To drive the point home, Stifel cited data from Thomson Reuters, showing that the value of M&A deals announced globally in the first half of 2018 was $2.5 trillion, skyrocketing by 64 per cent compared with the same period a year ago. Deals involving companies based in different countries accounted for more than 40 per cent of total transactions.

The market for initial public offerings during the same time was also amongst the strongest on record. From January through June, there weas an industry leading of 97 IPOs in Hong Kong alone, capturing nearly 15 per cent of all global new offerings. Asia-Pacific, accounted for nearly half (46 per cent) of global IPOs, Stifel said.

"This partnership is especially timely, given The Hong Kong Stock Exchange's ongoing effort to ease restriction requirements on the local listing of technology and biotechnology companies, sectors of particular focus for Stifel," Li Bingtao, executive director and CEO of Everbright Sun Hung Kai, said.

"It is also an extension of our international footprint, enabling us to fulfill our commitment to serve our clients' needs globally,” Li Bingao added.