HONG KONG, July 18 (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank has appointed Henry Cai, a former top UBS deal maker, as its head of corporate finance in Asia, in a widely expected move, as banks in the region go on an aggressive hiring spree in anticipation of a strong pick up in mergers and acquisition.
Cai had resigned as Swiss bank UBS’s chairman of Asia investment banking and head of investment banking for China earlier this month.
Since his departure from UBS, speculation was rife that Cai was headed to Deutsche Bank to work closely with former colleague Robert Rankin.
Cai has been with UBS since March 2006 when he joined from BNP Paribas, initially as chairman of investment banking for China.
He has played a big role in increasing the firm’s China business. He will join Deutsche Bank’s Asia Pacific executive committee and would report to Rankin, Deutsche said in the statement. Cai will be based in Hong Kong.
Rankin left his role as UBS’s Asia Pacific head of investment banking last year to be Deutsche Bank’s Asia Pacific CEO.
Cai was closely involved in many of the first wave of Chinese enterprises to be listed on the Hong Kong H-share market and U.S. stock exchanges, including Shanghai Petrochemical, Tsingtao Beer, Deutsche Bank said.
According to sources, Cai played a key role in relationships and transactions with Bank of China, China Merchants Bank 968.HK Sinopharm 099.HKand automaker BYD 211.HK.
Following Cai’s departure, UBS had reshuffled the top ranks of its China investment banking business, a group that has served as a key source of strength for the Swiss bank’s regional operations. It named David Chin, the Asia-Pacific co-head of investment banking, as the interim head of China investment banking.
(Reporting by Denny Thomas; Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)
