DBS appoints Sebastian Paredes Hong Kong unit CEO

Paredes comes in when DBS Hong Kong market value falls as it reported a $1.02bln writedown.

DBS Group, Southeast Asia's biggest bank, said on Monday its Hong Kong chief executive Amy Yip will retire at the end of the year and be replaced by a senior banker from Indonesia's Bank Danamon.

The hiring is seen by analysts as a move by CEO Piyush Gupta to inject new direction and leadership at the bank's second most important market after Singapore.

Last month, DBS reported a S$1.02 billion ($750 million) writedown, the second-biggest since 2005, to reflect the falling market value of its Hong Kong business.

Sebastian Paredes, an Ecuadorian citizen and a former Citibanker, will join as chief executive of DBS's Hong Kong business on September 13 subject to regulatory approvals, DBS said in a statement.

Gupta, who joined DBS in November from Citigroup, faces a stiff challenge to strengthen the Hong Kong business, a market where the bank has struggled in the past few years following an expensive acquisition in 2001.

Hong Kong accounted for 21 percent of DBS's earnings in the first half of the year, while Singapore accounted for about 62 percent. The rest comes from China, Southeast Asia and India.

View the full story in Reuters.