Asia moves: Natixis hires two in Asia, Sumitomo boosts corporate banking, and more

Natixis has made a couple of appointments in Asia. James Thomson will become head of financial sponsors coverage for Asia, while Sanjeev Kumar has joined as senior country manager for Singapore and head of South-east and South Asia for corporate and investment banking.

Thomson has been with Natixis since 2019, where he has been working as a managing director in the aviation sector team in Asia. 

Thomson has more than 18 years’ investment banking experience, and has worked across a broad range of sectors including aviation, logistics, transportation, technology, banking and insurance, real estate and natural resources. He has worked in both Asia and Europe. 

Prior to joining Natixis, Thomson was at Deutsche Bank, where he was most recently head of transportation, aviation and logistics for Asia. Thomson will be based in Hong Kong. He will report jointly to Aurelien Lasjunies, head of coverage for Asia, and Meriem Smida, global head of the sponsor coverage group.

Kumar has 25 years’ banking and finance industry experience across New York, London, Hong Kong and Singapore. He has worked for various firms including Barclays Capital, Citigroup and RBS. Prior to joining Natixis, he was at MUFG in Singapore as head of sector coverage and acquisition finance for Asia. 

Kumar reports to Bruno Le Saint, Asia chief executive officer for corporate and investment banking. Kumar succeeds Pin Chua, who is leaving the bank to pursue other things.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation has made a couple of senior appointments to its corporate banking and global markets business. David Koh becomes deputy head of corporate banking for Asia, while Salim Zaman has been named head of sales and trading, global treasury for Asia-Pacific and East Asia.

Koh joins from HSBC where he most recently led its global liquidity and cash management business in Singapore. He brings close to 30 years of deep international experience in corporate and transaction banking, having worked across seven geographies. 

Prior to HSBC, Koh headed the transaction banking teams for Standard Chartered in Greater China and north Asia. He has also previously worked at Westpac, JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank. Koh will report to Rajeev Kannan, managing executive officer and deputy head of Asia.

Zaman joins from Citigroup, where he has spent more than 20 years in FX and sales and working in the key Asian financial hubs of Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. He was most recently managing director, head of FX investor sales for Asia. Zaman will report to Yasuyuki Takeda, senior general manager of treasury for Asia.

Chong Wee Khoon has joined the markets business of BNY Mellon markets business as senior Asia-Pacific (Apac) market strategist. 

Wee Khoon has more than 20 years of experience in European and Asian financial markets. He joins from China Life Franklin Asset Management where he served as senior investment strategist. He has divided his career between portfolio management at trading (working at firms such as Aspen Hill Partners and Jefferies) and strategist positions (working at firms such as Nomura and Societe Generale). 

Wee Khoon will be based in Hong Kong. He will report globally to Daniel Tenengauzer, head of markets strategy, and locally to Darren Boulos, head of FX Apac.

Edmond Lau has been named deputy chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, with effect from April 1. Lau, who is currently the senior executive director of the HKMA, has more than 17 years’ experience in HKMA’s operations. 

He resigned from the HKMA in 2013 to pursue further study. He joined HKMC Annuity as chief executive officer in 2017, and has been on secondment to the HKMA since October 2019.

Linklaters has appointed Hwang Hwa Sim as global practice head for capital markets, to be based in Hong Kong. Hwang Hwa, who is appointed for a four-year term, succeeds Michael Voisin whose tenure in the role ends at the end of April. 

Hwang Hwa was promoted to capital markets partner in 2010. He has particular expertise in convertible and exchangeable bonds, cross-border bond issuances by major Chinese firms, panda bonds, green bonds and structured pre-IPO investments.

Hong Kong’s administrative government has appointed Michael Wong Yick-kam, former executive director of Sun Hung Kai Properties, as a non-executive director of the Securities and Futures Commission. 

Nicky Lo Kar-chun and Clement Chan Kam-wing have been reappointed to another term as non-executive directors at the regulator. These appointments are each for two years.