Aberdeen Standard Investments, Europe's second biggest fund firm, has appointed a head for its onshore China business, AsianInvestor can reveal.

The newly combined group has hired Amy Wang, formerly head of institutional business for Greater China at Amundi Pioneer Asset Management, another recently merged entity.

Wang will start as general manager of Aberdeen Asset Management (Shanghai), the group's wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE), on September 1. A spokeswoman declined to provide further information on the hire.

Standard Life Investments has had a representative office in Beijing since 2002. Aberdeen set up a representative office in Shanghai in 2008 and in September 2015 established the WFOE in the Shanghai free trade zone with the intention of applying to participate in the qualified domestic limited partnership programme and to obtain a private securities fund management registration.

Aberdeen was the first foreign firm to be granted a WFOE licence in China that would allow it to run private funds onshore.

Wang’s immediate priority will be to help bring together the two China teams following the merger of their UK parent companies, Aberdeen AM and Standard Life. The deal completed last Monday (August 14) to form Standard Life Aberdeen, a group with £583 billion ($758 billion) under management.

Wang will report to Ian Macdonald, deputy head of Asia Pacific, and Alexis Ng, Asia-Pacific head of distribution, both of whom are based in Singapore.

Amundi Pioneer, Europe's biggest fund manager with €1.3 trillion ($1.5 trillion) under management, did not provide comment about Wang's departure by press time.

Before joining Pioneer Investments in September 2015, Wang spent 12 years as Beijing chief representative at US fund house Franklin Templeton, where she oversaw daily operations including business development and client services. She has also worked for Fitch Ratings and the International Monetary Fund.

This story has been update to correct the name of Aberdeen Standard Investments and provide extra information since it was first published.

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