By Emi Emoto and Chikafumi Hodo

Japan's top money manager, Nomura Asset Management, said on Friday it has agreed to acquire the Taiwanese asset management arm of ING Groep, a move that will make Nomura the first Japanese asset manager to start operations in Taiwan.

Nomura Asset, an unit of Japan's top brokerage, Nomura Holdings Inc, will partner with an investment group led by Ashwin Mehta, former chief executive of Taiwan-based ING Securities Investment and Trust Company.

An official at Nomura Holdings declined to disclose the purchase price. Nomura Asset held 30.8 trillion yen ($293.94 billion) in assets under management as of September.

ING said in a statement the transaction is expected to close during the second quarter and is subject to regulatory approval.

ING Securities Investment is among the top 10 asset management firms in Taiwan and holds about 5.2 billion euros ($7.06 billion) in assets as of October, the statement said.