A senior move at one of the UK’s largest asset managers leads this week’s review of personnel changes around Asia’s real estate world as M&G adds to its Singapore-based team. Also making the list are top-level turnover at financial regulators in mainland China and Singapore.
M&G Real Estate announced this past week that it has hired Wenning Jung as director of portfolio management for fund of funds with its Asia Life Fund team. Based in Singapore, Jung reports to Asia Life Fund head Martin Seol and had spent nearly three years with executive recruitment firm Macdonald & Company in the city-state prior to this latest role. Earlier, Jung served more than a decade with Franklin Templeton in the US and Singapore.
China’s State Council announced on 30 July that Fang Xinghai, deputy head of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, has been removed from his position with the financial regulator. Fang had turned 60, the official retirement age in China, during May. His role has been taken over by Li Ming, 55, who formerly headed the CSRC’s legal enforcement division after earlier leading the CSRC for Jiangsu province.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore said on 29 July that Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat has been appointed as its deputy chairman with effect from 23 August. Chee, who is also Second Minister for Finance, had been appointed to the board of Singapore’s central bank from 1 June and is currently serving a three-year term. Chee takes over the MAS spot from Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who stepped down in May.
BlackRock has promoted its chief strategist for Asia Pacific, Ben Powell, to a new role which encompasses both APAC and the Middle East, according to a statement by the executive this past week. To fulfill the new role as chief Middle East & APAC investment strategist for the BlackRock Investment Institute, Powell is relocating to the United Arab Emirates after nearly a decade in Singapore.
Hong Leong Asia, the trade and manufacturing unit of Singapore tycoon Kwek Leng Beng’s Hong Leong Group, on 30 July announced to the SGX that it has appointed Josephine Lee Woan Chiou, 50, as its new group chief financial officer. Lee takes on her new duties on 5 August after having served as finance director of Ho Bee Land Ltd until May 2023. The chartered accountant also has previous experience as chief financial officer of the managers of Frasers Hospitality Trust.
Emperor International Holdings Ltd informed the Hong Kong stock exchange on 1 August that Donald Cheung Ping Keung will be stepping down from his role as a non-executive director on the company’s board from 1 September. Now 69, Cheung had stepped down from his role as an executive director with Emperor International last year after first joining the board of directors in 2007.
The mainland China unit of BlackRock has made a significant management reshuffle, redesignating vice general manager and chief investment officer Lu Wenjie (pictured) as chief investment strategist, according to a LinkedIn update. The asset management giant has also promoted Liu Xin as chief investment officer for its fixed-income strategy, with Liu having served as a director in the division in China after formerly working with BlackRock’s fixed-income unit in Singapore.
NASDAQ-listed data centre operator VNET Group said on 30 July that it has appointed David Lifeng Chen as an independent director on its board. The appointment by the mainland China-based firm comes after independent director Erhfei Liu had stepped down on 24 July for personal reasons. Chen has served as an operating partner at Hongshan CBC Cross-Border Digital Fund since 2017.
If you know of other Asia real estate professionals changing their jobs, getting promoted or just doing something exciting, please contact us here at Mingtiandi.
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