Nomura Holdings Inc. is seeking a partner in China to help it establish an equity underwriting business in the world's No. 2 stock market in terms of performance.

The push into China is part of Nomura's goal to get 50 percent of revenue from outside Japan in the next two years, up from 30 percent now, Siggi Thorkelsson, head of Asia- Pacific equities, said in an interview Monday.

"We cannot be a leading equities house in Asia without an onshore license in China," said Thorkelsson, who is based in Hong Kong. "We want to be able to underwrite equity transactions in China, so we're looking for joint venture partners. It's a very important agenda."