Citi Global Banking has appointed Jing Zhao and Simon Yoo as co-heads of Citi’s Financial Institutions Group (FIG) in the Asia-Pacific.
Both will report to Farhan Faruqui, Head of Asia-Pacific Global Banking and be based in Hong Kong, a press release issued here said.
Jing is currently Chairman of China Investment Banking and she will also continue in this role with offices in Beijing and Hong Kong. Simon, head of Financial Entrepreneurs Group in Japan, will relocate to Hong Kong to take up his new position before the end of the year.
Also joining the team is Ashish Bajaj who joins the FIG team based in Hong Kong as Head of Financial Institutions Relationship Management in Asia Pacific, reporting to Jing and Simon.
Citi has over 90 bankers in its FIG Global Banking team across the region, covering investment banking, corporate banking and commercial banking clients.
“Our Financial Institutions Group is one of our most important franchises in the region given the continued capital needs and M&A opportunities for banks in the region. We look forward to this team leading the further development of our FIG team across the region as we continue to support our clients with their capital and advisory needs,” Faruqui said.
Ashish is a veteran with Citi having worked in New York, London and India, and is currently head of Global Transaction Services, Commercial Bank and Global Subsidiaries Group in India, where he helped develop and grow these businesses significantly.
During his Citi career, Ashish also helped manage the Emerging Markets Cash and Trade businesses while based in London. Ashish’s replacement in India will be announced shortly, the release said.
Jing joined Citi in 2006 from Morgan Stanley to lead the China Investment Banking effort and was instrumental in building the strong team which has led a series of high profile IPOs and advised on major M&A transactions in recent years, including the merger of China Netcom and Unicom and the IPOs of China Coal, Citic Bank, China Railway Construction Company and Metallurgical Corporation of China.
Simon joined Citi’s FIG team in New York in 1997 and was co-head of FIG Japan from 2005 to 2007, before leading the FEG sector team in Japan. He has been involved in numerous landmark restructurings, global offerings and mergers in the US, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia.
