Deutsche Bank’s incoming Asia-Pacific CEO picks Singapore over Hong Kong for his home base
- Alexander von zur Muehlen assumes the role on August 1; Werner Steinmueller, his predecessor, was based in Hong Kong
- Lender routinely splits executive teams in the region between the financial hubs
Deutsche Bank’s incoming Asia-Pacific chief executive Alexander von zur Muehlen is relocating to Singapore in keeping with the lender’s “dual hub” structure for region. His predecessor was based in Hong Kong for the past four years.
Deutsche Bank routinely splits its executive teams in the region between the financial hubs, with Steinmueller’s co-CEO predecessors based in Singapore and in Hong Kong between 2012 and 2016. Steinmueller was the first from the region to serve as a member of the bank’s management board.
“We have – and always have had – and remain committed to a dual hub structure for the region,” a Deutsche Bank spokeswoman said on Thursday.
Bloomberg reported the Muehlen move earlier on Thursday.
The decision comes as questions are rising about whether the new security law will affect Hong Kong’s standing as an international financial centre and lead to a flight of capital and talent. Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan has sought to reassure global investors in recent weeks that the city’s Basic Law guarantees there will be no restrictions on capital flows in and out of the city.
This week, Bloomberg reported that Carl Huttenlocher, a veteran hedge fund executive in the region, will relocate to the US next year, as part of a move to make his fund more globally focused, but will keep his offices in Hong Kong and Singapore open.
Huttenlocher did not cite the security law as a reason for his decision in the interview, but said increased US-China tensions were a reason he planned to shift the geographical weighting of his fund from an Asia focus to a global focus.
Speaking at the Hong Kong stock exchange’s commodities forum on Thursday, Charles Li, the chief executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), said the national security law brought “peace and order” to the city after months of anti-government street protests and the bourse has been working with the international community to ease their anxieties over the law.
Li, also known as Li Xiaojia, said he did not believe the passage of the Hong Kong Autonomy Act would “fundamentally change” the city.
“In this environment with the US and China growing more and more further apart from each other, I think Hong Kong’s function of being the connector, being the translator, being the converter is extraordinarily important,” he said.