Baring Asset Management, the emerging market-focused investment management house, has named Sean Chang as head of Asian debt.

Chang was latterly at HSBC Global Asset Management (formerly Halbis Capital Management), where he had been an investment director since 2007, responsible for managing both retail and institutional Asian debt portfolios. He has previously been in senior fixed income investment management roles at Mirae Asset Global Investment Management, Hang Seng Investment Management and INVESCO Asia.

In his new position, Chang will be based in Hong Kong and report to Alan Wilde, the firm’s head of fixed income and currency, and Wilfred Sit, chief investment officer for Asia. He will be lead manager on the Baring Asian Debt Fund subject to regulatory approval, as well as managing all other Asian debt investments across the firm.

“We believe Asian currencies in general should appreciate against developed market currencies and Asian debt will provide superior risk-adjusted returns and diversification benefits,” Wilde said in a statement. “As credit quality continues to improve we believe that Asian debt will increasingly assume the role of US treasuries in the asset allocation decisions of regional investors.”