In 1994, Morgan Stanley was the first global investment bank to open an office in South Africa after the lifting of sanctions. Since then, Morgan Stanley has advised clients on mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, equity and debt capital raisings and black economic empowerment transactions, spanning all major sectors of the South African economy.

The South Africa country specialists, based in Johannesburg, have full access to Morgan Stanley's global network of industry, product and other experts. South African activities include providing commodity, foreign exchange, asset liability management and interest-rate-related solutions to local clients as well as actively participating in the domestic bond, equity and derivative markets.

In 2005, Morgan Stanley announced its joint venture with Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), the leading domestic merchant bank, to provide sales and trading services for JSE-traded equity-linked securities, publish research on South African companies and distribute Morgan Stanley's global equity research in South Africa.

In September 2006, Morgan Stanley entered into a debt cooperation agreement with RMB. The debt cooperation agreement allows Morgan Stanley and RMB to leverage jointly their respective skill sets and provide differentiated debt capital market and related solutions for our South African clients. Products include global investment and non-investment grade bonds and securitisation offerings of local assets for South African corporate clients.