Di He will step down as chairman of the board of UBS' securities joint venture in China after leading key developments in the Middle Kingdom's banking sector for 22 years.
Effective immediately, Eugene Qian is taking over as chairman and Ken Chen has been appointed as general manager of UBS Securities (UBSS) in addition to his role as head of equities at UBSS, according to an internal note seen by FinanceAsia on Friday.
The changes come as UBS works to strengthen its investment bank and further build its wealth and asset management businesses in China.
UBS won approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to increase its shareholding in UBSS from 24.99% to 51% at the end of November last year. In doing so, it became the first foreign bank to increase its stake to gain majority control of a securities joint venture in China.
He joined UBS in 1997, was the first head of China for the firm’s investment banking division, and has been its vice-chairman of investment banking Asia since 2003.
He led landmark transactions for key clients including the IPO of Bank of China HK, Bank of China, China Merchants Bank and China Communications Construction Company.
He has been central to UBS's development in China, such as driving the investor access QFII programme with UBS becoming the first QFII holder, UBS’s investment into Bank of China, leading the establishment of UBSS and, most recently, gaining 51% control of UBSS.
He will stay on as senior advisor of UBS until March next year to ensure a smooth transition.
Qian rejoined UBS in June 2015, first as the firm’s group country head for China and a member of UBS's Asia-Pacific executive committee, and then as president of UBSS since the end of 2017.
In addition to the chairman role, Qian will continue to represent China at UBS's APEC and country head committee. He has 25 years of experience in the banking and financial services industry. From 1997 until 2003, he worked in the investment banking division of UBS Hong Kong where he specialised in cross-border M&A, corporate advisory and capital market transactions.
Qian has played a leadership role in charting UBS's China strategy and leading UBSS in achieving a number of key milestones in the last four years.
Chen rejoined the firm as head of equities of UBSS in August 2017. With more than 20 years of investment banking experience, he worked for UBS and managed the equities business in mainland China from 2008 to 2010 and in Taiwan from 2005 to 2008. Chen will work closely with Qian to drive the UBSS strategy and manage key relationships with the government, regulators, shareholders and clients.
