(Yicai) Jan. 18 -- Harvest Fund Management, one of China's largest asset managers, has replaced the head of global operations at its Hong Kong subsidiary and made other staff changes at the unit, The Paper reported.

Harvest Global Investment has appointed Han Tongli as chief executive and chief investment officer, replacing Thomas Kwan, whose term expired Jan. 8, The Paper said today. Han will implement Harvest Fund's cross-border and overseas business strategy and be responsible for the unit's business results.

Han, who has much overseas investment experience, joined Harvest Fund in August 2021 and is the director of strategic investment at its fixed income department, according to the Beijing-based company’s website.

On Jan. 12, Reuters reported that Harvest Fund is planning to phase out its overseas business and had sent employment termination notices to one-third of Harvest Global's staff, requiring them to leave within three months. The Hong Kong unit has around 40 full-time workers.

Reports that Harvest Global has let go a third of its staff are false, The Paper cited a company insider as saying. The firm is upgrading its strategy and adjusting the team structure amid the CEO change, the person added.

It is also not true that Harvest Fund has withdrawn from overseas business, the insider said, noting that the team's restructuring is intended to better serve overseas customers.

Founded in 1999, Harvest Fund had assets under management of CNY1.45 trillion (USD201.5 billion) as of the end of 2022, ranking second among Chinese asset managers, according to its website.

Editor: Martin Kadiev