JPMorgan Taps Former Citi Banker to Head China Tech

By P.R. Venkat

JPMorgan Chase has hired former Citigroup banker Yang Ruo to head its technology, media and telecommunications team in China at a time when deal activity in the space has been picking up pace.

"His extensive experience in the technology sector and proven track record in financial leadership will be key assets as we build our China TMT franchise," according to an internal memo seen by The Wall Street Journal.

A JPMorgan spokesperson confirmed the memo.

Yang will report to Mark Fiteny, JPMorgan head of TMT for Asia-Pacific, as well as David Lau and Michelle Wang, co-heads of JPMorgan's investment-banking operations in China.

Activity in China's tech sector has accelerated in recent months. Tech giants including Alibaba Group, JD.com and Lenovo have raised billions of dollars by selling convertible bonds, with most of the proceeds used to buy back shares or pare debt.

Some of the deals in which JPMorgan advised included the $5.00 billion of convertible bonds issued by Alibaba and a $1.5 billion fundraising by Trip.com.

According to the memo, Yang previously worked as chief financial officer at popular Chinese social-media platform Xiaohongshu and was co-CFO of Chinese conglomerate Fosun.

Write to P.R. Venkat at venkat.pr@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 16, 2024 04:32 ET (08:32 GMT)

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