JP Morgan’s top dealmaker in Malaysia is leaving

KUALA LUMPUR: The head of JPMorgan Chase & Co’s Malaysia investment banking, Didi Yahya, is leaving the firm this week after more than 20 years.

The departure comes as the pace of dealmaking in the nation has slowed, according to a Bloomberg report.

First-time share sales from Malaysian companies totalled USD247 million (RM993 million) so far this year, compared with USD935 million for the same period last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Mergers and acquisitions involving Malaysian companies last year reached USD20.9 billion, the lowest since 2009, it said.

Chris Cockerill, a Singapore-based spokesman for JPMorgan, declined to comment. A message sent to Yahya’s work e-mail address was returned as undeliverable, Bloomberg reported.

Southeast Asian investment banking has experienced several high-profile departures already this year, it said.

Tim Leissner, the Goldman Sachs Group Inc executive who helped build the investment bank’s Malaysia business, left the firm in February.

Nehchal Khanna, the Morgan Stanley managing director focused on Malaysia dealmaking, resigned in January, while HSBC’s head of Southeast Asia banking advisory Alvin Lim is leaving the bank to join buyout firm CVC Capital Partners next month, Bloomberg reported.

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