HONG KONG, March 27: Credit Suisse is pursuing new opportunities in Vietnam and Pakistan while it keeps up its search for a securities joint venture partner in China, its top Asia Pacific executive said on Monday.

Credit Suisse, which is hosting its annual Asian Investment Conference this week, is targeting state privatizations in Vietnam and providing client access to Pakistan’s booming stock market, said Paul

Calello, Chief Executive, Asia Pacific.

“We have a really strong line up of speakers that can shed light on some of the lesser known investment opportunities, such as in Vietnam, Pakistan and in the private equity world,” Mr Calello, a Columbia MBA graduate, told Reuters in an interview.

Credit Suisse estimates there will be $5 billion to $6 billion in state-owned enterprise (SOE) privatizations in the next two to four years in Vietnam, a market that has drawn a lot of attention lately.

In Pakistan, Credit Suisse will form partnerships with local counterparties by as early as next month to give clients direct access to stocks in a market that is up 21 per cent this year after soaring 51 per cent in 2005.

“The efforts of privatization have been really quite remarkable,” said Mr Calello, who met with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and senior officials there last week. “It’s an open market.”

Credit Suisse has invited Vietnam’s vice minister of finance and the special economics and finance adviser to Shaukat Aziz to speak at its conference, which will draw more than 1,000 investors and 250 companies with a total market value of $2 trillion.

Switzerland’s second-largest bank is also continuing to search for a securities joint venture partner in China, where rivals Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs have recently set up their own shops.

Credit Suisse also needs to find the right partner and to determine the right price for any deal, he said. Mr Calello, who had once hoped to have a venture in place by the end of 2004, declined to give a potential timeframe.

The firm is moving full steam ahead in India, another market where Merrill, Goldman and a host of private equity players have been expanding their reach.—Reuters