Feb. 6, 2007 (China Knowledge) – Merrill Lynch & Co. has hired former Citigroup banker Margaret Ren to head its China investment banking team.

Ren, who was cleared last year of wrongdoing in China Life Insurance's initial public offering, will start this week. Ren's experience and connections in the mainland might help secure more deals for Merrill as more Chinese companies tap overseas markets to fund expansion.

Merrill Lynch is the latest financial giant seeking to tap the China’s rising demand for fund-raising activities, although the company lags behind top-ranked UBS in terms of China equity capital market deals last year.

Merrill Lynch had nine deals totalling US$4.8 billion, while UBS ranked top with 20 deals, raising US$7.4 billion, according to Dealogic.