CLSA, the offshore arm of China’s largest brokerage firm Citic Securities, has hired Michael Luk as its new head of global debt capital markets, bringing back the veteran banker who previously ran the bond desk at ANZ.
The Hong Kong-based company said in a statement on Tuesday that the newly created role aims to bolster its debt capital market franchises in Greater China and Southeast Asia.
Luk, who has more than two decades of fixed income experience in Asia, is best known for his stint with ANZ, where he was the Australian bank’s global head of debt capital markets for five years until 2016. He was most recently the head of fixed income origination and sales at the Singapore Exchange.
“We have a highly qualified and seasoned banker whose knowledge and experience in capital markets are second to none,” Zhenyi Tang, Chairman of CLSA, said in the statement. “The addition of Luk to expand CLSA’s DCM business will further strengthen our market leading position.”
The appointment will be effective March 1. Luk will be based in Hong Kong and report to Tang, who stepped up to his current role in January last year, replacing Jonathan Slone, who remains chief executive of the brokerage firm.
Luk joined ANZ from Bank of America Merrill Lynch in 2011 as global head of debt origination and head of capital markets for Asia. Prior to Bank of America, he was Deutsche Bank’s head of Asia fixed income capital markets and Asia leveraged debt capital markets.
Citic Securities completed its acquisition of CLSA in 2013 as it looked to expand internationally strategy amid slower growth at home. In November 2016, the Beijing-based brokerage firm announced that its overseas businesses Citic Securities International would be integrated with CLSA. This integration was completed mid-2017 with the international arm of Citic Securities now operating under the CLSA brand.
