Macquarie hires Taiwan chairman

Dr. Wu Ching-mai has been lured by the Macquarie Group to head up its corporate finance efforts in Taiwan. Under the title of chairman, corporate finance Taiwan, Wu will focus on developing distressed corporate restructuring, advisory, infrastructure and ECM activities in the country.

Macquarie presently boasts 12 dedicated ECM bankers among 115 corporate finance professionals in Asia and with Wu's arrival, the group's corporate finance team now includes more than 25 Chinese nationals in its Beijing, Hong Kong and Taipei offices.

Wu makes the move to Macquarie from ING Bank Taipei, where for seven years he was the Dutch institution's country manager. Prior to this role, he spent eight years with Chinatrust Commercial Bank.

Says Andrew Low, Macquarie's head of corporate finance for Asia, "In Taiwan, Macquarie has been building on the stockbroking business acquired last year from ING and on activity in other niche areas such as distressed corporate restructuring and semi-conductor equipment leasing in Hsinchu. We anticipate further growth in this market with Dr. Wu on board."

According to Australian CEO Allan Moss, international growth continues to be a key driver for the group.

"We see the big opportunities in the biggest markets, in particular capital markets in North America, Europe and Asia," he says. "We anticipate our treasury and commodity business to expand and we plan to grow our equity derivative business in Asia."

For the full year ending 31 March, Macquarie recorded a 67% in after tax profits of A$823 million ($630 million) and international income now represented around 37% of total income.

"International income is now half, or more than half the income from a number of business groups," Moss adds. "We've had no negative experience in international expansion and a strong track record for success in international expansion."