UBS makes new hires in Asia
UBS has made several new hires in Asia as it looks to expand its equities business in the region. The bank has hired Barclay's head of equities for the Asia-Pacific region, Vikesh Kotecha, who will become UBS's new head of Asian-Pacific equity derivatives. Other key new hires have been made in Japan, into the bank's equity business there.

UBS has shaken up its equity derivatives business in Asia with several news hires as well as changing its Japanese equities leadership.

The Swiss bank has hired Barclays' head of Asia-Pacific equities, Vikesh Kotecha, to become its head of equity derivatives in the region, according to part of a memorandum seen by finews.asia.

Zurich-based UBS said it will also hire Stephane Petermann from Societe Generale in Hong Kong, where he was most recently head of equity volatility trading in the region. He will take on the same role at the Swiss firm.

From Tokyo to Hong Kong

Hirofumi Takaku, currently in Tokyo in charge of Japanese equities, will become head of equity derivatives structured sales while Tommie Fang will remain as head of equities in China, including derivatives solutions. Michel Lee will continue running UBS' equity capital markets and corporate solutions including cash and strategic equity solutions, but will no longer manage the equities derivatives side.

All three will be based in Hong Kong.

«Our equity derivatives business in Asia Pacific is a key part of our global equity derivatives offering, as well as a core component of our overall APAC equities franchise,» UBS' global equity derivatives head and its regional head of equities said in the memorandum.

Japan Move

The bank also plans to bolster equities in Japan: it is naming Paul Redbourn, most recently head of cash equities distribution in the country, to run equities in Japan, according to a separate memo seen by finews.asia.

Redbourn takes over from Takaku, who is relocating to Hong Kong in the wider equities role. Both are veterans of UBS.