Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan's biggest securities firm, offered jobs to 40 students at triple the normal starting salary under a new plan to strengthen its international business, two sources said.

The college recruits, chosen from 650 candidates, will take up positions in investment banking, trading and other departments starting next April, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the information isn't public. They'll be guaranteed a ¥6.5 million salary before bonuses, compared with ¥2.4 million for regular hires.

Nomura is bidding to prevent top students from choosing overseas firms such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. that often offer higher salaries. Investment-banking candidates under the new program were required to score more than 860 on the Test of English for International Communication.