Thirteen stockbroking companies, including from neighbouring Singapore, Japan and France are bidding for five foreign stockbroking licences that have been put up for grabs by the Securities Commission, a report said yesterday.

The Edge business newspaper said the Securities Commission was expected to announce the winners by end March.

Among the 13 applicants are: UBS Investment Bank, Macquarie Bank of Australia, JP Morgan, Citigroup Smith barney and Credit Suisse First Boston, DBS Bank and Kim Eng Securities Singapore, Credit Lyonnais of France, and ABN Amro of the Netherlands, it said.

Others include HSBC Securities, Nomura Securities of Japan and BNP Paribas of France.

The commission was expected to secure assurance from the winning five companies not to target the retail market but instead aim for institutional businesses.