BlackRock Secures Tang Xiaodong to Lead China Operations

BlackRock Inc, an American global investment management corporation, announced this Wednesday that it has secured investment and regulatory veteran Tang Xiaodong to head its China operations.

The appointment of Tang is part of the asset manager’s attempts to capitalize on China opening up its financial markets to foreign investors. In his new position, the company said that he would execute and oversee the development of BlackRock’s long-term business strategy in China from July of this year.

Tang will report directly to Geraldine Buckingham, who has been the head of Asia Pacific since February, as Finance Magnates reported. Her appointment was also part of the companies efforts to increase its operations in China and the APAC region.

Commenting on the appointment of Tang, BlackRock’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Larry Fink said: “China is a strategic priority for us and we remain very engaged in pursuing our long-term strategy in this key market.”

Most recently, Tang was the CEO of the Hong Kong unit of GF Securities Co. Before this, he was also the CEO of China Asset Management Company, a Beijing-based firm which managed more than 1 trillion yuan ($149.11 billion) in assets, as of the end of March 2019.

During his extensive career, Tang was also employed at China’s main securities regulator, the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). From 2009 until 2014 he held a number of positions, such as the deputy director-general at the Department of International Affairs and more.

BlackRock Reports Solid Q1 Profit

The appointment of Tang follows on the heels of the firm releasing its financial results for the first quarter. BlackRock, which is actually the largest asset manager in the world, reported a better-than-expected profit in the first quarter, with total quarterly net inflows across all product types climbing by 13.6 percent to $64.67 billion year-on-year.