Citi promotes Lim in Singapore

Citigroup stalwart Sim S. Lim has been promoted to regional head of emerging markets (EM) sales and trading for Asia-Pacific. Lim will switch desks in Citigroup's Singapore office from his position as regional head of Asia risk treasury, a role that he has held since 2003.

Lim first joined the bank in 1983 as a management associate in Kuala Lumpur and four years later was sent to Citi's Tokyo operations where he eventually became head of corporate and consumer treasury.

From Citibank Tokyo, Lim moved to New York in 1999 where he led the GCIB risk treasury for North America for three years. In 2002, he took a position an emerging markets related position as head of sales and trading for the Citibank-connected Saudi-American Bank, before moving back to Singapore in 2003.

In other Citibank EM reshuffling news, Rodrigo Zorrilla, regional head of corporate sales and structuring and John Pitfield, regional head of local debt capital markets, will report to both Sim Lim and Jeremy Amias, head of global fixed income for Asia-Pacific. Citi describes this move as a means to further integrate the global fixed income and emerging markets sales and trading platforms in the relevant areas.

In a busy year for Citigroup's EM sales hires, Lim's appointment follows the recent promotion of Paco Ybarra as global head of emerging markets sales and trading. Ybarra was formally regional head for Asia-Pacific and is replacing Y.S Wong, who has informed Citigroup of his intention to retire.