Macquarie announces ten appointments

Following the acquisition of ING's Asian cash equity and equity capital markets business earlier this year, Macquarie Bank has announced 10 key hires in the Asia-Pacific region. More appointments are expected to follow in the coming weeks as the acquisition is wound up and re-named Macquarie Securities Asia.

On the corporate finance side, five new appointments have been announced.

Andrew Low has been named Asia head of corporate finance and will remain Macquarie's global head of the telecommunications, media, entertainment & technology (TMET) practice. In his Hong Kong position, Low will assume responsibility for corporate finance and equity capital markets in the region and brings 14 years of related experience spanning three continents.

Paul Ow will head to Singapore as chairman for South East Asia and will be joined by Mark Dempsey, a division director. Dempsey comes to Macquarie from ABN AMRO where he was a director focused on the region's integrated energy sector.

Phillippe Espinasse also comes to the ECM team as a Hong Kong-based managing director. He has previously had over ten years ECM experience with UBS in Asia and Europe.

In Sydney, Antony Green will move to his new role as head of real estate, Asia, investment banking group. Green formally worked for JPMorgan as its head of property in Asia-Pacific. Recently, he had been focusing on the REITS market in Asia.

Five key appointments in the region will also bolster Macquarie's equities division, with Basil Mcllhagga taking on the job as head of Macquarie Securities Asia, based in Hong Kong. He assumes a role vacated by Peter Johnson, who leaves the organisation to pursue other interests.

In addition to this new role, Mcllhagga will remain head of sales and sales trading for the combined Australian and Asian businesses. Before moving to Macquarie, he worked a 16-year stretch with JB Were, where his last position was partner and head of Australian institutional sales.

David Rickards, who has been appointed head of research for Macquarie securities, will also bolster the Hong Kong office. Prior to his new role, Rickards spent 10 years as Macquarie's Australian head of research.

Also moving to Hong Kong will be Paul Hennessy, the new head of client management for Macquarie Securities. Hennessey brings experience from CIBC in Canada where he was head of client management and has also worked for Greenwich Associates.

In addition,15-year Macquarie veteran Jonathan Coultas will head the alternative assets team, focusing on hedge fund sales, convertible bonds and DR's. He too will be based in Hong Kong.

At Macquarie's Japanese operations, Kenichi Ohtaka will take on the role as head of sales trading in Japan. Most recently, Ohtaka was head of sales trading and execution at UBS Japan, which he joined in 1994.

Since the acquisition of ING's Asian cash equity and equity capital markets businesses, approximately 40 new hires and appointments have been instituted by Macquarie.