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JPMorgan promotes Singapore as investment banking hub

The US house has re-organised and expanded parts of its Southeast Asian investment banking division.

Philip Lee, one of the firm's most highly regarded and hard working bankers has become the effective head of investment banking across Southeast Asia. Currently head of investment banking for Singapore, the irrepressible Singaporean regains investment banking (IB) responsibilities in Malaysia that he previously relinquished after JPMorgan's merger with Chase.

He also now gains an oversight role over a newly created Brunei investment banking post and leadership of a Southeast Asian execution team, which has been attached to investment banking. Below Lee, will be two co-heads overseeing an eight team, which is in the process of being created in Singapore with the aim of bringing critical mass to one location.

The team will prepare sale and purchase agreements, write prospectuses and complete documentation and due diligence for the M&A, ECM and DCM product lines across 22 existing IB staff members based in Singapore. It will be staffed from industry, product and coverage teams.

One co-head will be Michael Staheyeff, who will also continue to run a five-strong IB team Indonesia, but will re-locate from Jakarta to Singapore. He will continue to report to senior country officer (SCO) Jonathan Chang. The co-head other will be Kevin Wong, the new head of investment banking for Malaysia, who replaces Wai Leong Chay, a heritage Jardine Fleming staff member who has left the firm.

Wong inherits seven IB employees in Kuala Lumpur and will report to Lee. He will also assume the role of Malaysia SCO from a second heritage JF employee Windsor Hall, who returns to New York. Below Wong, are Fauziah Hisham, who heads commercial banking in the Federation and Raja Noorma Othman, who will remain deputy head of Malaysian IB.

In addition to three execution staff already based in the Lion city, Harmeet Bedi will be transferred from the telecommunications team in Hong Kong. Other staff will be identified later.

A new position has also been created for Brunei following the appointment of Gordon Nelson as head of Brunei IB. Currently working with SCOs and country IB heads to cover certain central banks and key sovereigns in the Asian region, Nelson will report to Lee and continue to work closely with Tim Ryan on sovereign and central bank matters.

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