ING boosts financial markets team in Taipei

ING has hired Jeson Yih-Liang Liu to run its financial markets business in Taiwan, covering local currency forex, derivatives, straight debt and structured products. He will report to Percy Rueber, head of financial markets, Asia and to Wu Ching-mai, ING's country manager for Taiwan.

The move comes as demand grows in Taiwan for many types of structured products. Investors are busy hunting yield, while companies of all types are increasingly concentrating on risk management. Liu joins a small but growing team at ING focusing on this area.

He joins from TaipeiBank where he had worked since May 2000 as the general manager in the treasury department and offshore banking unit. Prior to TaipeiBank, Liu spent 11 years at ABN Amro, where his last position was as head of the treasury marketing and derivatives group. He started his career as an FX trader at Bank of America.

Taiwan is emerging as a key battleground in the structured product market, where a mix of savvy investors, corporate demand and abundant liquidity have made it a good place for business. "This is a key hire for ING as we look to strengthen our operations in Taiwan," says Rueber. "Jeson has a very strong background in capital markets and we believe that his local expertise will help us leverage our global capabilities in this key market."