Daiwa Capital Markets last week laid off three key people in its equity capital markets team in Asia, including the head of ECM for Asia Pacific ex-Japan, Jonathan Orders, sources say. The layoffs, which are said to have affected several other people in the team as well, come after the firm severely trimmed its equity sales and research staff in Asia in the first quarter of this year and raise questions about Daiwa’s commitment to its ECM business in the region.