Samsung Securities is to push ahead with an overhaul of its Hong Kong operations as part of a regional strategy centred on servicing the growing bilateral trade between South Korea and China. The Hong Kong office of South Korea's biggest securities house has to date focused on Korean securities brokerage.

However, it is planning to expand aggressively and recruit 50 staff to cover corporate finance, institutional brokerage of Hong Kong stocks, principal investment and mergers and acquisitions advice. The move underscores the ambition of South Korean groups to increase their overseas footprint amid global financial market uncertainty.

Samsung Securities last year stated its ambition to be a leading Asian regional player by 2012 and be among the world's top 10 financial services companies by 2020.