Asia moves: HKEX appoints Cha, CSFS names new chief strategist and executive director, and more

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing has named Laura Cha May-Lung the next chair of the board, marking the first time a woman has held the position at the stock exchange operator.

Her appointment is subject to written approval by the chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The HKEX said a further announcement will be made once the approval is obtained.

Cha will serve as chair for the next two years, a period coinciding with the remainder of her term as a director on the HKEX board. She replaces CK Chow, who has opted to retire as chairman at the end of his term. At the same time, Cha will succeed Chow as a director of the London Metal Exchange. This appointment is subject to receiving a no-objection confirmation from the London exchange’s regulator.  

Credit Suisse Founder Securities, a joint venture between the Swiss bank and Founder Securities in China, has appointed a chief strategist and an executive director in its research department. The appointments are part of Credit Suisse’s efforts to boost its research and equities trading capabilities ahead of the formal inclusion of China A-shares in MSCI’s benchmark indexes, says the bank in a statement.

Li Chen, previously China A-share strategist at Credit Suisse, has moved to Credit Suisse Founder Securities as chief strategist to lead its A-share coverage. Chen will work with Credit Suisse’s Hong Kong and China equity research team to deliver investment ideas focused on the A-share market to both domestic and international clients, reporting to Credit Suisse Founder Securities chief executive Minsheng Wang.

Herman Chan Hiu Chun has joined the venture’s research department as executive director, reporting to Li Chen.

China A-shares will be included in MSCI’s key global benchmark equity indexes in June. The move is a major milestone in internationalising the world’s second-largest stock market with a market capitalisation of around $7 trillion, and is expected to attract more international funds, says Credit Suisse.

Dominique Blanchard joined Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank on April 23 as Asia-Pacific head of the global markets division, says the bank in a statement.

Blanchard is based in Hong Kong, and reports to Gene Kim, who heads up the bank’s global markets business for the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and to Michel Roy, senior regional officer for the Asia-Pacific region. Blanchard is set to join Credit Agricole CIB Asia-Pacific Management Committee.

Previously, he was global head of sales and debt capital markets at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group. He has also worked for Daiwa Securities, running global financial product activities, and before that he spent more than 15 years at the Credit Agricole group, with his last position being deputy head of the fixed-income division.

Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking has named Inhwan Oh head of global markets sales for Asia-Pacific, subject to regulatory approval. He will report to Jerome Niddam, head of global markets for Asia-Pacific, and to Yann Garnier, head of sales for global markets.

Oh joined the firm in 2010, and has worked in top roles covering South Korea. His previous employers included Merrill Lynch, Bank of America and Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has appointed Kim Suyi senior managing director and head of the Asia-Pacific region. She will be responsible for overseeing CPPIB’s growing portfolio of investments in the continent.

Kim joined the fund in 2006, and established CPPIB’s first international office in Hong Kong. She then launched the fund’s private equity Asia business before taking on the role of managing director and head of Asia.

Kim has over 15 years’ experience in private equity with stints at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and the Carlyle Group. She has also worked at McKinsey, in various Asian countries, and at PwC.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore has appointed Chaly Mah to its board of directors. Mah, who is presently chairman of NetLink NBN Management, will serve as a director of MAS from May 1, 2018, to May 31, 2020. He was formerly chief executive of Deloitte Asia-Pacific and Deloitte South-east Asia, as well as chairman of Deloitte Singapore.

At the same time, Lim Chee Onn will step down from the MAS board and as chairman of the risk committee on May 31, 2018. Lim, who is a senior international adviser at Ascendas-Singbridge, has been an active member of the MAS board for 14 years.

Nikko Asset Management has appointed Yoichiro Iwama its outside director. Concurrently, he will also be appointed chairman of the firm’s board of directors, effective May 15, 2018.

Iwama, who has decades of managerial experience in the asset management industry in Japan, most recently held the position of representative director for Tokio Marine Asset Management. He also served as chairman of the Japan Securities Investment Advisers Association, the country’s self-regulatory body for the industry.

Citi Private Bank has hired Timothy Morse as global market manager for Thailand, Malaysia and Brunei. In the Singapore-based position, he reports to Citi Private Bank’s South Asia head, Jyrki Rauhio.

In his new role, Morse is charged with overseeing the respective country teams of private wealth managers and the existing relationships with the private bank’s ultra-high-net-worth clients in these markets. Prior to the appointment, Morse was a team leader for the Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia markets at JP Morgan since 2011. Before that, he held dual roles as head of onshore investment advisory for Asia and head of offshore for Australia with Deutsche Asset and Wealth Management. 

JP Morgan Asset Management has appointed Philippe El-Asmar to the newly created position of head of Asia beta strategies. Based in Hong Kong, El-Asmar reports to Michael Camacho, global head of beta strategies.

El-Asmar will be responsible for accelerating the firm’s beta strategies expansion, including strategic and alternative beta strategies, as well as factor-based investing. At the same time, he will oversee development of the firm’s regional ETF product strategy and design to meet client needs.

El-Asmar was co-founder and most recently chief executive of Amareos, a financial news analytics firm that uses artificial intelligence to evaluate market sentiment, produce research, and provide consulting services. Prior to that, he spent 10 years at Barclays Capital in a variety of roles, including global head of equities distribution and head of distribution for the Asia-Pacific region.