JPMorgan Appoints Huang to Lead Chinese Securities Venture

(Bloomberg) -- JPMorgan Chase & Co. has appointed veteran dealmaker Houston Huang to lead its Chinese securities venture as the Wall Street firm steps up expansion in the country.

Huang will become chief executive officer and head of investment banking for JPMorgan Securities (China) Co., according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News. He will be responsible for implementing the venture’s strategic agenda, overseeing its day-to-day management and the domestic investment banking business.

David Lau will become head of China investment banking coverage for JPMorgan, focusing on its offshore advisory business based out of Hong Kong, the memo shows. A spokeswoman at JPMorgan confirmed the contents of the memo.

JPMorgan is competing with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to become the first Wall Street bank to achieve full ownership of its Chinese securities venture in China. That could pave the way for aggressive expansion as the country further opens its $50 trillion financial market to foreign firms.

In other moves, New York-based JPMorgan named Sonia Li as vice chair of investment banking for Asia Pacific. She will also oversee the bank’s centralized research group, according to the memo. It appointed Melissa Lu as head of syndicated and leverage finance loans for Asia, reporting to Li.

JPMorgan earlier announced that Murli Maiya will become CEO for South and Southeast Asia, while Paul Uren will become sole head of investment banking coverage for Asia Pacific. Maiya will continue to manage the FIG Investment Banking business for the region. All the appointments will be effective as of Feb. 1, the memo said.

(Updates appointments effective on Feb. 1 in last paragraph.)