(Bloomberg) -- UBS Group AG reshuffled its telecommunication, media and technology investment banking team in Asia-Pacific, naming new heads to replace a China veteran as dealmaking in the world’s second-largest economy is struggling to rebound.
The Swiss lender named Tim McKessar and Axel Granger as APAC co-heads of TMT advisory business, according to an internal memo. They will replace Patrick Tsang, a 18-year UBS veteran, who will focus on coverage and initiative for key clients across the region. A spokesman at the bank confirmed the content of the memo.
Global banks are seeing slumping investment banking revenue in China amid escalating political tension and sluggish growth. Tsang is the third senior UBS China banker to step aside or leave the bank since October, following the departure of APAC investment bank head David Chin. Fan Yang, a China rainmaker for the bank, also left in December.
McKessar is currently head of TMT for Australia and New Zealand and Granger is head of mergers and acquisitions for Southeast Asia. The two joined the bank in 2021 from Credit Suisse Group AG and Standard Chartered Plc, respectively.
China technology-related dealmaking had been one of the biggest revenue drivers for investment banks until 2020 when the country unleashed a broad crackdown on companies such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd.
The Biden administration’s campaign to curb Beijing’s technological ambitions last week included a number of new blacklisted Chinese companies, including server maker Inspur Group Co., which has been a partner for US firms such as Intel Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc.
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.
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