OCBC appoints head of capital markets
Tan Kee Phong will take over as head of OCBC Bank’s debt capital markets and loan syndications teams, effective August 15.
Before joining OCBC, Tan was head of capital markets for Singapore at Standard Chartered, but left the bank earlier this year as reported first by Asiamoney PLUS.
He also worked at Citicorp Investment Bank in Singapore for 16 years, in the debt capital market and corporate finance teams.
New head of prime brokerage accounts at JPM
Chris Barber has joined J.P. Morgan as managing director and head of prime brokerage account management for Asia Pacific. He will be based in Hong Kong and joins the bank from UBS where he held a similar role.
He starts as the bank prepares to launch its Asia Pacific prime brokerage platform in the next few months, and his appointment follows that of David Leahy, who was named managing director and head of sales, Asia Pacific, for the prime brokerage team.
Before he took over as head of prime brokerage account management for Apac at UBS, Barber was an executive director for investment bank operations in London. He joined UBS in 2001 from Morgan Stanley, where he also worked on the investment bank operations team in London.
CIMB-Principal hires Malaysia and regional CEOs
Munirah Khairuddin has been named chief executive officer (CEO) for CIMB-Principal Asset Management Malaysia. Pedro Esteban Borda will take over as CEO for the Asean region at the firm. Both appointments are effective from August 21.
Khairuddin joined the firm in November 2006 and moves to the role from her position as deputy CEO. Before this she was a G7 economist and strategist for a Fortune 500 multinational oil and gas company, and a fixed income portfolio manager for emerging markets at Rothschild Asset Management in London.
Borda joins the firm from Principal Financial Group Mexico, where he was country head. He joined Principal Financial Group in 1996 as managing director of Ethika EFJP, a pension firm in Argentina. In 1999 he moved to Mexico to become managing director of Principal Afore, before moving to his most recent role in 1994.
Pedley to head regional investment at HSBC PB
Benjamin Pedley is returning to HSBC in Hong Kong after leaving in December last year to return to Australia for personal reasons. He will join HSBC Private Bank as regional head of investment strategy for Asia.
Before working for HSBC, Pedley worked for LGT Bank in Hong Kong and Singapore as the regional head of advisory services. He has also worked for UBS Wealth Management and Macquarie Bank in Australia. He will be based in Hong Kong in his new role, reporting to Olivier Pacton, regional head of private bank investment group.
Nallamala to take over Asian equities at RBC GAM
Mayur Nallamala has been appointed senior portfolio manager and head of Asian equities at Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Global Asset Management (GAM). He will be based in Hong Kong.
Before joining RBC GAM he spent eight years with J.P. Morgan Asset Management in Hong Kong where he managed Asia Pacific ex-Japan mandates for sovereign wealth, institutional and retail clients.
In his new role he will work alongside Adam Matthews, RBC GAM managing director, who leads the firm’s business and development in Asia Pacific.
Threadneedle expands institutional BD team
Mark Chan has joined Threadneedle Investments as director for institutional North Asia, based in Hong Kong. He will report to June Wong, vice-chairman of Asia Pacific and CEO of Hong Kong.
He joins from J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Asia, where he was vice president for greater China. Before this he was a relationship manager at Allianz Global Investors in Hong Kong. He has also worked at Charles Schwab Hong Kong and H&R Block Financial Advisors in the US.
Simmons & Simmons hires AM partner in Asia
The law firm’s asset management and investment funds group has appointed Gaven Cheong to its China financial markets practice as partner. He will be based in Hong Kong, effective from August 19.
His focus will be on investment funds and regulatory work. He joins from Sidley Austin where he was counsel covering investment funds and litigation. Before this he was a solicitor at the Hong Kong offices of Clifford Chance and Herbert Smith.