BNP Paribas has announced plans to hire a significant number of research analysts, salespeople and sales traders from KBC Securities Japan's Japan equities unit beginning 1 April.

This recruitment drive is the last phase in the bank's plan to build a comprehensive equity and equity derivative platform in Japan, the company said in a statement. It is also instrumental for BNP Paribas to offer clients a Pan-Asian equity product.

KBC Securities Japan's operations are set to be wound down in the next few months and part of the staff will remain to ensure an orderly transition. KBC Group had said in November last year it had realigned its business direction and would be focusing on retail customers, small and medium sized enterprises and midcaps in its core markets in Belgium and Central Europe.

"These new teams will be fully integrated into BNP Paribas' Asia-Pacific setup and will help the bank deploy a hybrid model, not only focusing on generating market ideas through research capabilities but also in being a trusted advisor from a risk management perspective," the Paris-listed banking group said.