BNP Paribas Appoints Lee Cook as Head of Cash Equity, Asia Pacific

BNP Paribas is pleased to announce the appointment of Lee Cook as Head of Cash Equity for Asia Pacific and Emerging Markets EMEA, and his relocation from London to Hong Kong. This appointment reflects BNP Paribas’ ambition to reinforce its equity brokerage franchise in key Asian markets.

Lee brings a wealth of experience to this role. With BNP Paribas in London, he was Head of Emerging Markets Cash Equities, where he began building our cash equity capabilities in Turkey and South Africa, and will continue to develop our Global Emerging Markets cash equity products from Hong Kong. Prior to joining BNP Paribas in September 2010, Lee ran the EMEA Cash Equity business from 2003 at JP Morgan in London, where he worked for 15 years.

Commenting on Lee’s relocation to Hong Kong, Pierre Rousseau, Head of Global Equities and Commodity Derivatives in Asia Pacific, said: “Lee is one of the most respected professionals in the sector. He will realign our research and equity brokerage platform to reflect the evolving needs of our institutional investment clients across the Asia Pacific region, in Europe and the US.”

In today’s macroeconomic environment, BNP Paribas recognizes that the needs of its investment management clients are changing. The evolution of research coverage focuses greater concentration on regional themes and will engender stronger coordination between equity analysts across the Asia Pacific region. The new research structure leverages the bank’s core strengths in key sectors, and rebalances the coverage profile in favour of companies with deeper liquidity and larger market capitalization.

Recent senior hires in the regional Property, Energy, Financials and Capital Goods sectors in Hong Kong, Japan, and Thailand demonstrate BNP Paribas’ commitment to deepening the regional reach of its core research coverage.

“Our objective is to better meet the needs of our clients, and in doing so, strengthen our position as a leading provider of institutional equity brokerage services in the Asia Pacific region”, Mr. Rousseau added.

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