ING Investment Management has appointed Pranay Gupta to the newly-created role of chief investment officer for its Asia Pacific operations in Hong Kong, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Prior to the appointment, Mr Gupta served as deputy chief investment officer for the company's Europe office. He joined ING in 2009 from Pearl Group, where he was deputy chief investment officer.

His appointment comes on the heels of the resignation of regional head of equities, Nick Toovey, last week. A spokesperson for the company confirmed the move but declined to comment on Mr Toovey's decision. The company also clarified that Mr Gupta is not his direct replacement.

ING has in recent months been carrying out moves in line with its "Back to Basics" strategy, which focuses on reducing franchises and strengthening core services. Just recently, it completed the sale of its Asian private banking business to Singapore's Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation for around €300 million ($419 million).

Besides Hong Kong, ING has direct and indirect private banking operations in Beijing, India, and Thailand.