HONG KONG (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc will raise headcount at its Asian prime finance unit by a fifth to 80 this year as it looks to fight for more hedge fund clients in an industry dominated by the likes of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley .
The firm is boosting its capital introduction, OTC, client service and futures teams, Hannah Goodwin, managing director of prime finance in Asia Pacific for Citigroup, told Reuters, as it
readies to gain from the growth in interest and the number of hedge funds setting up in the region.
"We have been getting a number of new sole mandates and we are seeing second and third mandates coming in from existing Asia managers as well," Goodwin said.
"That has been a growth story for us and I think that's going to continue," said Goodwin, who joined Citigroup about six years ago from Deutsche Bank AG
Prime brokers provide services such as clearing trades and lending money to hedge funds.
(Reporting by Nishant Kumar; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)
(This story was corrected throughout to change the company name to Citigroup from Citibank)