BlackRock names Hua Fan as China asset management joint venture head

HONG KONG (Reuters) – BlackRock Inc’s majority-owned China asset management unit has named Hua Fan, former chief investment officer of China Merchant Bank’s wealth management business, as its new general manager, equivalent to chief executive, the U.S. asset manager said in a statement.

Fan is likely to start in her new role after getting regulatory approval, and will replace Bing Ji, who is stepping down two years after being appointed as general manager of the China asset management unit.

The world’s largest asset manager launched BlackRock CCB Wealth Management, a joint venture with China Construction Bank Corp and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, in May 2021.

The venture has raised around 7 billion yuan ($975 million) via five products rolled out so far, according to official sales documents.

Ji will stay with BlackRock and relocate to Hong Kong, according to the company statement, where he was based earlier and provided sales services to China’s largest institutional investors.

The firm is “exploring future roles in Hong Kong with Ji,” according to the statement, which did not provide any further details.

(This story refiles to correct titles of JV’s new and former chiefs to general manager throughout story, gender of new chief in paragraph two)

(Reporting by Selena Li and Xie Yu in Hong Kong; additional reporting by Samuel Shen in Shanghai; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)