HSBC focusing on offshore Asian product distribution

HSBC has appointed Apratim Chakravarty as its new head of offshore Asian product distribution within its Asia-Pacific global markets team.

This is a new role that has been created to enhance the bank’s Asia product offering to clients outside the Asia-Pacific region — such clients are increasingly taking an interest in emerging markets as they seek to diversify their portfolios away from sluggish markets in the US and Europe.

Chakravarty will be responsible for coordinating those flows into Asia and streamlining the process across three products, namely rates, foreign exchange and credit.

“During the past 12 months, we’ve seen increasing flows from Europe and the US into emerging markets, particularly into Asia,” said Chakravarty, who is a managing director at the firm. “We would like HSBC to be the first port of call for investors and corporates looking to invest or hedge their exposure in Asia and my role is to ensure that is the case.”

HSBC already has existing sales teams covering US and European clients with emerging market portfolios, and these teams will stay in place.

Chakravarty is based in Hong Kong and reports jointly to Monish Tahilramani, Asia-Pacific deputy head of global markets and head of regional trading, and Justin Chan, Asia-Pacific deputy head of global markets and head of Hong Kong trading. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa (Emea), and the Americas, Chakravarty is accountable to the respective regional heads of institutional and corporate sales.

“This is a new role borne out of an initiative to capitalise on the increased global demand for Asian assets and products among investors within the developed markets,” said Gordon French, head of global markets, Asia-Pacific. “HSBC is strongly positioned to connect Asia’s markets with the world and we will continue to tailor our finance solutions to meet the evolving needs of customers globally.”

Chakravarty moved into this role from Indonesia, where he has been heading global markets since 2007. Andy William Widjaja and Ali Setiawan were both promoted to co-heads of global markets in Indonesia last month to fill Chakravarty’s old role. Prior to that, Chakravarty was head of corporate sales for India, having joined HSBC in 1996.

Chakravarty has a degree in engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata.