Citadel Securities, a prominent U.S.-based brokerage and trading company, has announced the appointment of Tony Tang, previously the China head at BlackRock, to lead its China business. Scheduled to start in September, Tang will be based in Hong Kong and will frequently travel to the firm’s Shanghai office. Reporting directly to Peng Zhao, CEO of Citadel Securities, Tang’s responsibilities will include expanding the company’s presence in mainland China and collaborating with clients and regulators.
Tang’s tenure at BlackRock lasted from 2019 until his departure in June. During his time there, he oversaw the asset management giant’s operations in China. Prior to his time at BlackRock, Tang amassed five years of experience at various Chinese financial institutions and also worked for the China Securities Regulatory Commission.
In recent years, Citadel Securities has been actively expanding its footprint in the Asia-Pacific region. Over the past three years alone, the company has more than doubled its headcount to over 250 employees. In 2010, Citadel Securities established a unit in Shanghai and is now focused on rebuilding its business in mainland China. This comes after the company was fined 670 million yuan ($93.7 million) in 2019 as a result of a regulatory probe surrounding its trading practices during the 2015 Chinese stock-market crash. Currently, Citadel Securities maintains a team of 10 employees in Shanghai.
To further bolster its presence in mainland China, Citadel Securities’ Hong Kong subsidiary was designated a “qualified foreign institutional investor” in February. This status grants the company broader access to China’s stock and bond markets.
