Merrill Lynch adds to equity markets team

Merrill Lynch has announced 11 new appointments to its Pacific Rim equity sales teams in Hong Kong, Japan and Australia.

In equity sales, the firm has made three new appointments. Vivienne Cheng joins from JPMorgan and will be based in Hong Kong. She joins as a director.

In Japan, the firm has hired Yukio Uchida as a director in the domestic equity sales group. She joins from HSBC.

Also in Japan, Shigeru Takano joins as a vice president in the domestic equity sales group. He comes from Goldman Sachs.

In hedge funds, convertibles and derivatives sales, Merrill has made four hires, three of which are in Japan.

These comprise Bruce Henwood who joins Japan hedge fund sales, James O'Hanlon who joins Japan convertible and derivative sales and Dan Wheeler who joins Japan equity derivative sales. Henwood and Wheeler both formerly worked at JPMorgan, while O'Hanlon comes from Commerzbank.

Finally in Hong Kong, the firm has hired Janice Yu to join the Asian equity-linked marketing team. She comes from Lehman Brothers.

In equity-linked, cash and portfolio trading, the firm has also made four hires. Two new people have joined the Australian portfolio trading group - Scott Emms and Jason Lal. Both previously worked at JPMorgan.

In Tokyo, Merrill has recruited Edward Perry to join the Japan equity-linked trading group. He was formerly at Allstate Investment.

In Hong Kong, Stephen Choi has been hired to join the Asian equity-linked trading group. He comes from Daewoo Securities.