SSB hires regional strategy research team from Morgan Stanley

Salomon Smith Barney has announced the appointment of Ajay Kapur as its new managing director and head of Asia-Pacific regional strategy research. Kapur joins the bank from Morgan Stanley, and brings along with him his two-person team, Narendra Singh, vice president, and Elaine Chu, analyst.

Reporting to Otto Wong, MD and head of Asia Pacific equity research, Kapur will coordinate Pacific Rim strategy, including Australia and Japan, for his new employers. Aside from his time at Morgan Stanley, he previously held the positions of Asia equity strategist at UBS Securities, chief economist at Peregrine Securities in Hong Kong and economist at the WEFA Group in the US.

"This is the most significant hire in Asia research this year," states Wong. "We are delighted to have Ajay and his team join us. Following other recent important hires such as Craig Irvine, head of regional telecoms and Wahid Butt as head of Korean research, this further demonstrates our commitment to becoming a top tier research house and our long-term commitment to the Asia Pacific region."