(Yicai) March 28 -- US investment bank J.P. Morgan has named Rita Chan and Alan Ho as its new co-senior country officers for China, effective April 1.

Chan and Ho will jointly chair the China Operating Committee and work together to drive J.P. Morgan's overall business agenda across the franchise and help bring its global network and resources to China, the New York-based company announced today.

J.P. Morgan China Chief Executive Officer Mark Leung had earlier announced he would retire from the company later this year.

Chan joined J.P. Morgan in 2020 as head of real estate for Asia Pacific investment banking and later assumed responsibilities for Asia Pacific consumer and retail coverage. Ho held numerous senior leadership roles across J.P. Morgan, including Asia Pacific chief financial officer and chief administrative officer.

J.P. Morgan operates in China through four wholly-owned legal entities: J.P. Morgan Bank (China), which was established in 2007, J.P. Morgan Securities (China), approved by Chinese regulators in August 2021 as the first wholly foreign-owned securities firm in the country, J.P. Morgan Asset Management China, which received regulatory approval to wholly own China International Fund Management last year, and a futures company approved in 2020.

J.P. Morgan's steady development in China benefits from the increasingly rapid and extensive opening-up of the Chinese financial sector, the company said, adding that it hopes to contribute to the robust development of the Chinese financial market for win-win benefits.

Editor: Futura Costaglione