The $1bn (€749m) global infrastructure fund joint venture set up by Credit Suisse and US conglomerate General Electric last year has opened a Hong Kong office and hired an executive from a local rival to run it as part of a push in Asia.

Global Infrastructure Partners, a private equity fund set up by Credit Suisse and GE and chaired by the Swiss bank's former executive vice-chairman Adebayo Ogunlesi, has recruited Mike Nikkel as a partner to spearhead its drive in Asia, the fund said in a statement today.