Veteran Hong Kong broker Tony Espina to take charge of Kazakhstan lender

Low market turnovers have forced many share brokers to look overseas for new opportunities, but few have ventured abroad as far as Tony Espina, who will take charge of a Kazakhstan lender next month.

Espina, a former chairman of the Hong Kong Securities Association and owner of local brokerage firm Goldride Securities, will become chief executive of ATF Bank, a lender in Almaty.

His latest move does not mean, however, that he will abandon his local brokerage business or the city.

"To the contrary, I plan to introduce ATF customers to Hong Kong and to inform Hong Kong businessmen of the increasing trading relationship between Kazakhstan and Hong Kong," Espina told the South China Morning Post.

Italy's biggest bank UniCredit last month announced it would sell its entire stake in ATF to a Kazakh businessman at about one times net equity (about US$500 million), according to the lender's audited financial statements as of December 31. UniCredit, which bought ATF Bank for US$2.1 billion in 2007, is among many European lenders selling their non-core businesses.

Italy and Kazakhstan central banks have approved the transaction and Espina, who handled the sale acquisition for the new owner, will take a small stake in the lender and will become its chief executive from May.

Espina said ATF had written off its bad debts and restructured its credit control and management team. "It is now a clean bank with a professional management team and strong corporate governance and high transparency," he said.