Royal Bank of Scotland has hired two senior bankers to its China team in an effort to boost the strength of its wholesale and investment banking presence in the country.
Qing Cheng Hua joins from J.P. Morgan as country executive for RBS (China), the group’s locally incorporated entity, and former Nomura banker Charles Zhou comes on board as managing director of the bank’s China origination division.
Hua will be responsible for executing the group’s China strategy and day-to-day operational management. He will also be responsible for managing the bank’s relationship with Chinese regulators and will be based in Shanghai, reporting to Sherry Liu, chairman and CEO for RBS in China. Hua’s appointment is subject to regulatory approvals.
“Qing Cheng brings 30 years of experience in the banking industry in China, with particular strength in operational management and nurturing close relationships with regulators and financial institutions,” said Liu. “We are confident that Qing Cheng will help us make further advances in our ambitious growth strategy in China.”
Before joining RBS, Hua worked at J.P. Morgan in China for more than 10 years, most recently as managing director, executive vice-president and Shanghai branch manager. Hua’s career started in 1982 when he joined Bank of China’s Shanghai branch. He then worked in Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co and Chemical Bank in Shanghai before joining Chase Manhattan Bank as vice-president and Shanghai branch deputy general manager in 1995.
Zhou will originate capital financing and financial advisory deals for Chinese state-owned enterprises and high-growth private enterprises. He will be based in Hong Kong, also reporting to Liu.
He has more than 12 years of China investment banking experience and last worked at Nomura as a senior member of the China investment banking team. Before that, he worked for CLSA in Beijing and spent more than seven years at Lehman Brothers as a senior member of its China investment banking department and as chief representative of the Beijing office.
Zhou has strong relationships with numerous government and state-owned enterprises nationwide and has been involved on numerous IPOs in the banking and insurance sector in China.
RBS opened its China securities joint venture with Guolian Securities in May, making it the first British-based bank with a licence to underwrite stocks and bonds issued in mainland China.
Last month, RBS made three senior appointments in its Japan operation.
