Martin Currie names business development head for Asia

Martin Currie Investment Management has appointed Chen Ee Fang as its business development director for Asia. In this new role, Chen will be responsible for client servicing and business development in the region.

Chen is set to assume the post on September 28 and will report to Kimon Kouryialas, regional head for Pan Asia at Martin Currie. He will be based in Martin Currie's new office in Singapore, which is set to open on October 1, subject to receiving the appropriate regulatory approvals. AsianInvestor first wrote about the planned client servicing office in Singapore in July.

Chen joins Martin Currie from Vanguard Investments, where he was primarily responsible for institutional business development in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Before that, he worked for Watson Wyatt Worldwide. He has more than 10 years of experience in the industry and is fluent in Mandarin, Hokkien and Cantonese.

Martin Currie has been expanding its Asian presence for several years and opened its Australia office in August 2008. 

Local Australian and Asian offices are part of Martin Currie's strategy to service clients locally and this appointment demonstrates the level of commitment the company believes is needed for the region. Martin Currie's office in Melbourne will be used as a base to manage and support the firm's expansion into Asia. 

Kouryialas notes that the fund house has been investing in Asia since the 1920s and over 40% of its total funds under management are invested in the region. 

"We have a long history in the market and this new appointment has been created to help us continue our progress," says Kouryialas.

Headquartered in Edinburgh, Martin Currie manages around $18 billion in assets.