KKR has appointed Paul Yang, the president and CEO of China Development Financial Corporation (CDFC) as head of Greater China, effective January 2017. 

The appointment follows KKR’s recent announcement that it would expand its Asia-Pacific leadership team with the addition of senior investment talent in China, Singapore and Korea. In particular, Zhen Ji recently joined as a managing director of KKR China from CITIC Capital.

“Paul Yang brings 20 years of investment experience to KKR. He is well versed in private equity, venture capital, corporate and commercial banking, and he has proven ability to effect M&A and lead a multibillion-dollar enterprise throughout Greater China, says Joseph Bae, managing partner of KKR Asia. “As we head into our next decade of investing in China, we plan to continue to expand our scope of investments to include more mid-cap buyouts, cross-border deals and opportunities related to the domestic consolidation there, as well as in continuing to participate in growth-oriented investments.”

As President and CEO of CDFC, one of the oldest and largest regional merchant banking groups in Asia with over US$20 billion in assets, Yang supervised the group’s significant investments and led a team of 7,000 people across its operations in Hong Kong, Taipei, Shanghai, Seoul, Singapore, Bangkok, and Jakarta. Having joined CDFC in 2005 as its chief investment officer and head of its private equity business, he was promoted to his current role in 2011. During his tenure, Yang successfully restructured its then-proprietary private equity operation into a fast-growing asset management franchise and is credited with completing a series of strategic acquisitions in banking and securities that has transformed CDFC.

Yang will join as a member of KKR and head of Greater China. David Liu, KKR member, former co-head of KKR Asia Private Equity and head of Greater China, and KKR member Julian Wolhardt will leave KKR at the end of this year and will transition to being KKR Advisors. Based in Hong Kong, Yang will lead the team and business development in Greater China, chief of which will involve leading a team of over 20 professionals in the Beijing office as the firm continues building its China business.

KKR launched its operations in Asia in 2005 and now has seven offices across the region. In China, KKR has led a series of landmark private equity deals in areas such as food safety, environmental services, financial services, healthcare and education. In keeping with the changing market environment, KKR has been expanding its investment scope to include cross-border M&A and state-owned enterprise restructurings.