Citic Pacific appointed a new managing director in a long awaited move after the incumbent resigned earlier this year following losses on foreign-exchange derivative contracts, the Wall Street Journal reported. Citic chose 54-year-old Zhang Jijing, who is now assistant president of the company’s parent, state-run Citic Group, and head of its strategy and planning department. The position has been vacant since Managing Director Henry Fan resigned in April, along with former Chairman Larry Yung, following the foreign-exchange trading losses. In October 2009, Citic Pacific disclosed potential losses from what it said was an unauthorized bet on the Australian dollar, which slid against the US dollar as financial markets seized up. Earlier this year, it confirmed losses of US$1.89 billion for 2008 from that position. Analysts said Zhang’s appointment was a good idea, saying the position had been left open too long. They also said that it would help relieve the workload of Citic Pacific Chairman Chang Zhenming, who has been acting as managing director.
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