KUALA LUMPUR: London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has opened a Kuala Lumpur flagship office to enhance its presence in the Asean market and to tap into Malaysia’s rich talent pool.
LSEG head of customer operations Thomas Frossell said the expansion reflects the exchange’s strategic vision to establish a robust operational centre in Asia and leverage Malaysia’s linguistic and technological expertise.
“We take location very seriously, we want to have an Asian language hub, and one of the biggest things is talent. Part of coming here was to really understand the availability of talent, certainly around languages,” he said.
“Our decision to establish a flagship office in Kuala Lumpur was driven by our profound belief in the immense potential of this region. Beyond a geographical expansion, this move signifies our intent to forge lasting partnerships with Malaysia’s vibrant business ecosystem,” Frossell told the media at the inauguration of its Kuala Lumpur flagship office today.
LSEG plans to ramp up its Malaysia workforce with hundreds of new roles spanning helpdesk, technical implementation, analyst, content management and curation, as well as order management and billing.
“In terms of the number of roles that we’re going to bring into Malaysia, it will be wrong for me to give you an actual number at this moment, as that number is continuously changing. But it’s not just 20 or 30 roles, we’re looking to bring in over 300 roles. And as I mentioned, we’ve already brought in 55 roles this year. We’re looking to double that by the end of this year,” Frossell said.
Meanwhile, LSEG head of sales Apac managing director David Day said LSEG noted the current significant interest in the Asean region in its decision to expand its operation in Kuala Lumpur.
“We serve both buy-side and sell-side entities spanning the global financial spectrum, from institutional giants to local banks and fintechs to help them make informed investment decisions. Our presence in Asia is substantial, with more than half of our workforce based here in Asia. It is really important for us to be closer to our clients and be part of the financial services community,” he said.
Day highlighted the firm’s global presence and commitment to supporting financial markets across different levels of maturity.
“Financial markets are all at different levels of maturity. And we play in every single one, from the most developed markets to developing markets. And we have an ability at LSEG to share that knowledge across different markets. So when we have mature functioning, growing capital markets, economies, the people benefit,” he said.
“We’ve already had a presence in Malaysia for years, including KL in a smaller capacity. We’re not swayed by short-term political changes. This is a lasting commitment driven by our belief in Malaysia’s long-term potential and our aim to be a responsible corporate presence.” he added.