HSBC has promoted Alexi Chan to head of debt capital markets origination for Asia. This is an expansion of Chan’s previous role within HSBC’s DCM team, focusing on South and Southeast Asia. He will continue to be based in Singapore, where he has worked since 2004, and will split his time between the bank’s Singapore and Hong Kong offices. Chan reports to Stephen Williams, Asia-Pacific head of global capital markets.
Chan has been involved in a number of high-profile transactions across the region, including the first international bond issue from Sri Lanka, the first global Islamic sukuk from Indonesia and the largest corporate hybrid perpetual in the Singapore dollar market.
He succeeds Rod Sykes, who has transferred into global banking to focus on selling global banking and markets products to HSBC’s commercial banking clients in the region. Sykes will remain in HSBC’s global banking and markets group as Asia-Pacific head of commercial banking coverage. He was previously Asia-Pacific head of debt origination at HSBC.
His old role is now split between Chan, who is responsible for debt origination for Asia, and Sean Henderson, who is responsible for debt capital markets for New Zealand and Australia. Henderson was previously head of debt capital markets for Australia and had New Zealand added to his portfolio. Gerard Field, the head of debt capital markets for New Zealand, now reports to Henderson.
In addition, Wallace Lam has been appointed as head of high-yield capital markets and commercial banking debt origination for Asia, sitting within debt capital markets. Lam has experience working on complex credits across bonds and loans.
Sykes role, which is also a new role within the bank, is essentially a corporate advisory and origination role — which involves advising medium-sized companies as well as some relatively large companies on equity, debt, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate finance. Most of the firm’s high-yield transactions have typically originated from its commercial banking clients.
According to a source, the reshuffle is driven by HSBC’s recognition that commercial banking will be key to driving the firm’s business. “The revenues from commercial banking clients were non-existent six to seven years ago, but they have since grown to be a significant part of the business and it’s the area of the business that’s growing rapidly,” said a source.
In the past, much of the firm’s focus has been on global banking clients, which includes large multinational companies, banks and big corporates. However, these clients are often overbanked, whereas many commercial banking clients are in their growth stage and are more in need of funding options.
“Previously, a lot of the companies that fall under commercial banking could look at the bilateral market for financing, but with capital becoming scarcer, a lot of these companies will now look to the debt and equity markets for financing,” said a source.
