Citigroup names co-heads of Asia equity capital markets

[HONG KONG] Citigroup said it has appointed Ken Chow and Udhay Furtado to head the bank's Asian equity capital markets in a move which will bring the investment bank's local structure in line with its global operations.

The bank introduced the Banking, Capital Markets and Advisory (BCMA) model in September last year, placing all of the firm's banking and capital markets businesses under one umbrella, and has appointed leaders in those divisions in each region since then.

Mr Chow, previously the co-head of greater China equity capital markets, has been with Citigroup for four years, while Mr Furtado rejoined the bank last year from Goldman Sachs, the bank said in a statement. Both bankers are based in Hong Kong.

The bank is currently working on Alibaba Group Holding's US$13.4 billion listing in Hong Kong, the Aramco float in Saudi Arabia - which could be the world's largest listing - and recently led the US$345 million Hanwha Systems initial public offering in South Korea.

"We have excellent momentum across our banking franchise in Asia with involvement on several key transactions," Citigroup's Asia-Pacific BCMA head Jan Metzger said.

REUTERS