Asian merchant bank sets up London HQ
Asian-headquartered merchant bank Ion Pacific opened a London office as its European headquarters. It will be led by Claire Hoey, head of Euorpe, the Middle East and Africa, with Pierce Casey as senior adviser. Hoey was formerly an investment banker at Lehman Brothers and Rothschild. Casey was previously a director of DCC and Alchemy Venture Partners, and was the head of Apax Partners in Ireland. The company also appointed Ellis Chu as head of Greater China. Chu was previously head of China M&A at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Intertrust boosts leadership in Shanghai
Intertrust, a provider of trust, corporate and fund services, appointed John Ma as general manager for the Shanghai office. Ma, who joined the firm in 2007, was head of corporate services for the company’s Shanghai and Guangzhou offices.