Nomura Holdings, a Japanese financial holding company, and BDO Unibank, Inc. a bank headquartered in the Philippines, said on Monday that their joint venture BDO Nomura has started operations offering online trading services for stocks listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

"Nomura is excited to work with BDO, the leading commercial bank in the Philippines, to create a strong platform to serve a fast-growing market and bring new investment opportunities to domestic retail investors," Koichi Katakawa, President of BDO Nomura, said in a statement on Monday.

BDO Nomura provides investors market research, quick execution time and competitive rates, addition to fund transfers through the customer's BDO Deposit Accounts.

The joint venture is Nomura's second retail operation in the region after Thailand and is in line with Nomura's strategy to develop local retail brokerage businesses in Southeast Asia.

BDO Bank is a universal bank with about 1,000 operating branches and over 3,000 ATMs nationwide in the Philippines.