Asian equity markets have been very dynamic in recent years, underpinned by continued economic growth, more new issues, escalating earnings and increasing liquidity across the region, according to SJ Hwang, head of cash equity for the bank in Asia ex-Japan.
ôAsian markets are much more investable both in breadth and depth, which invites more clients to invest in the region,ö says Hwang. ôOur sales trading has grown dramatically in the past two, three years.ö
Hong Kong and China are leading the way in terms of market volume growth, followed by Southeast Asia and Korea. The bank claims that it has a dominant market share in Korea, Hong Kong/China, Malaysia and Thailand.
The proliferation of hedge funds in the region is also helping to drive the growth with both big global hedge funds and home grown funds setting up shop in the region. Hwang says two salespeople have left Credit Suisse recently to set up their own funds.
ôItÆs kind of crazy, and itÆs not a competition; there are just so many opportunities out there,ö he continues. ôThe global funds are increasingly allocating more of their assets to Asia. YouÆve seen the Asian markets grow, youÆve seen more money coming in, and youÆve seen more clients. As a result, there is demand not only for sales but also for research.ö
In March, the equity sales division hired 15 people for its Indian research team.
As for the new appointments, Mark Sandeford, who was most recently the bankÆs managing director and head of cash trading in non-Japan Asia, is relocating from Hong Kong to take up a new role as head of the London desk. He will cover equity sales and trading in non-Japan Asia and report to Hwang.
Ex-JPMorgan banker Tom Scott will join Sandeford to cover hedge fund sales. At JPMorgan he worked on Asian equity sales.
Josh Meyer joins Credit SuisseÆs Taiwan sales team from Macquarie Securities, while ex-Citi banker Chulantha De Silva comes on board to boost the Indian equities sales force. Both Meyer and De Silva will assume the title of director and will be based in the New York office.
William Han and Jonathan Jenkins, who are both joining from JPMorgan as directors, will reinforce the bankÆs general sales in Hong Kong and Singapore respectively. Meanwhile, Ruben Zamora, previously with UBS, joins the general sales team as a director in Singapore.
ôCredit Suisse is committed to investing in what is already a leading franchise in the region. The Bank is the top foreign broker in several Asian markets and the new appointments will ensure we continue to provide clients with the service and products they have come to expect from the industryÆs premier equity sales franchise,ö says Hwang in a written statement.
The Swiss bank has the biggest share of the Hong Kong equity market, according to Hwang, but had a team of only three people last year. That is why it has now hired four vice presidents to support its Hong Kong/China absolute return and hedge fund sales. These bankers are Sharon Jiang, Gillian Wang, Kevin Leung and Jeffrey Shiu.
The bank also continues to expand its sales team in other regions, having hired Kunal Bajaj, Sangram Singh and Anjali Bharvani as vice presidents in India. Paul Shin and Chris McGoldrick will cover Korea sales and general sales respectively out of London, Patricia Ahn will join as a vice president supporting general sales in New York and Carl Reading comes on board in Jakarta as a vice president supporting Indonesia sales.
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