From the press release desk this week…
People moves
Charles Lin, Vanguard’s managing director for China, will be taking on additional responsibilities for the rest of Asia (ex-Japan) and has been appointed as head of China and Asia, according to a statement from the firm. He will continue to report to Jim Norris, managing director of international operations. Separately, the firm said that the current managing director for Asia, David Cermak, will be taking on a new assignment at Vanguard. As part of these changes, the firm will be “optimising the structure of its Hong Kong-based support teams”, the statement said, without elaborating. FSA sought more information, but the firm declined to comment on Cermak’s new role…
Barings has appointed Mandy Lui as head of wealth and retail distribution for Greater China and Southeast Asia. Based in Hong Kong, Lui will report to Jon Millin, head of Asia-Pacific (ex-Japan) distribution. Before Barings, Lui was head of wholesale distribution for China, Hong Kong and Singapore at BNP Paribas Asset Management. Lui’s appointment comes after the firm said Duncan Robertson, global head of distribution and marketing, would take on the expanded role of Asia-Pacific head.
There will be no direct replacement for Lui’s previous role at BNPP AM, according to a spokesman for the firm. Instead, Guenter Tschiderer, who was the firm’s group head of networks for Asia-Pacific, will fill the newly-created role of head of private banking for Asia, which includes his previous role as well as Lui’s responsibilities…
Robeco has appointed Mitchelle Zhou to lead the firm’s commercial activities in China. Zhou will initially be based in Hong Kong and will relocate to Shanghai in 2019, where she will oversee Robeco’s wholly foreign owned enterprise (WFOE). She will report to Graham Elliot, Hong Kong-based head of distribution for Asia. Before Robeco, Zhou was the sales lead for Blackrock’s China institutional business…
Blackrock has appointed Charlie Reid as head of renewable power in Asia-Pacific. Reid, who was a portfolio manager for the firm’s renewable power investment team in London, will relocate to Sydney. The firm’s renewable power platform, which is a dedicated franchise under Blackrock Real Assets, has around $5bn in equity assets under management. The team has invested in at least 250 wind and solar projects globally, with 40 projects in Asia-Pacific, particularly in Australia, Japan and Taiwan…
Business moves
Gao Teng Asset Management, the joint venture firm of Tencent and Hillhouse Capital, has named the distributors for its first fund that will be launched in Hong Kong. The Asia Income Fund, which was recently approved for retail sale by the Securities and Futures Commission, will be distributed by China Citic Bank International and Essence International Securities in Hong Kong. The firm expects to sign with more distributors, including banks and securities firms…
DBS Bank in Hong Kong has simplified the application for personal loans and credit cards. The firm now only requires applicants to show their Hong Kong identity card, which the bank claims as a first in Hong Kong. The bank noted in a statement that it is the first to support the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s new personal-lending portfolio guidelines, which allow banks to adopt innovative technology to manage credit risks related to the personal lending business…
Regulation
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission will adopt new measures for asset managers managing virtual asset portfolios or funds, which include cryptocurrencies and digital tokens, according to a statement from the regulator. The regulator will be imposing licensing conditions on firms that manage or intend to manage portfolios investing in virtual assets, irrespective of whether the virtual assets meet the definition of “securities” or “futures contracts”. The regulator has also set out a framework to explore a pathway for compliance for virtual asset trading platform operators who are willing to be supervised by the SFC. Under the framework, the SFC will also explore whether virtual asset trading platforms are suitable for regulation in the SFC’s regulatory sandbox…
Branding
Star rugby player Dan Carter, who was previously a player for New Zealand’s All Blacks and now part of Japan’s Kobe Steelers, has become Natixis’ brand ambassador for Asia-Pacific. As brand ambassador, Carter will take part in a series of events organised across the region aimed at increasing engagement with the firm’s client base. Carter and Natixis have a long-standing relationship. From 2015-2018, Carter played for Racing 92, a club sponsored by Natixis since 2007 which competes in the French Top 14…
