Standard Chartered makes two key equities hires

Standard Chartered Bank continues to grow its cash equities business in Asia and has hired Richard Stone as global head of cash equities sales trading and Kim Yong Kook as head of cash equities in Korea, it said in a statement yesterday.

Stone joined the emerging markets-focused bank in Hong Kong on May 10 and Kim took up his position in Seoul a week earlier. Both men report to Tim Andrew, global head of cash equities.

Stone has a mandate to expand the bank's cash equities platform in the region. He is a 20-year industry veteran who had been in "semi-retirement" since May 2005 when he left his position as global head of sales trading at CLSA in Hong Kong. Earlier in his career, he was head of Asia (ex-Japan) sales trading at Merrill Lynch and also had spells as a senior trader at British brokerages Hoare Govett and Smith New Court.

As head of cash equities in Korea, Kim will be responsible for leading Standard Chartered's efforts to build up its domestic business in the country. Like Stone, he has two decades of industry experience, most recently as head of sales at Samsung Securities (Asia) in Hong Kong. Kim began his career in Hoare Govett's research department in Seoul, and then moved to jobs at Credit Suisse in Hong Kong and at WI Carr. 

"Both [Kim] and [Stone] are senior appointments which continue the momentum of the build-out of our cash equities capabilities, signalling Standard Chartered's intentions to further expand our presence across the region," said Andrew in a press release.

However, the bank was unable to confirm the total cash equities headcount in either Hong Kong or Seoul.

Andrew added in a statement to FinanceAsia that, "as the bank continues the momentum of building out our cash equities capabilities, these are new positions which will boost our market and product focus".

In April, Standard Chartered lured Craig McGee away from Deutsche Securities Asia to become its head of Southeast Asian equities and head of sales trading. McGee is based in Singapore.