Citigroup’s Southeast Asia Mergers Chief Ong Said to Leave Bank

Citigroup Inc.’s (C) Southeast Asia head of mergers and acquisitions advisory, Giles Ong, has left after seven years with the bank, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

Ong, 42, joined Citigroup in 2004 from Merrill Lynch & Co. and assumed his most recent position two years later. His last day at the bank was yesterday, one person said. Four vice presidents in Citigroup’s Asian investment banking team also left this week, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

The departures follow an expansion that saw Citigroup hire more than 40 directors for its Asian investment banking business this year. More than 200,000 jobs in the global financial- services industry have been eliminated in 2011, eclipsing the 174,000 positions lost in 2009, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

James Griffiths, a spokesman at the New York-based firm in Hong Kong, declined to comment on the departures. “We continue to hire in critical positions to support our clients,” he said.

Citigroup ranks first among advisers on mergers in Southeast Asia this year and sixth in the Asia-Pacific region outside Japan, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The bank is No. 7 in equity underwriting in Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, the data show.

To contact the reporters on this story: Cathy Chan in Hong Kong at kchan14@bloomberg.net; Joyce Koh in Singapore at jkoh38@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Philip Lagerkranser at lagerkranser@bloomberg.net