HONG KONG (Reuters) -Europe's biggest bank HSBC ( HSBC ) appointed Christopher Chua head of mergers and acquisitions on Wednesday, after its former global head left for JPMorgan last month.

Chua, who was most recently the bank's Asia head of M&A, will take up the new role immediately and continue to be based in Hong Kong, according to a memo seen by Reuters and confirmed by a company spokesperson.

He will lead the M&A business in "Asia and the Middle East, an area of competitive strength where we provide significant value to our clients", Adam Bagshaw, the bank's global head of capital markets and advisory said in the memo.

Chua is the latest top banker to be promoted to oversee reconfigured dealmaking business at the Asia-focused bank, which started a global overhaul last year that left the operation more focused on M&A and equity capital market capabilities in Asia and the Middle East.

The bank wound down its M&A and some equities businesses in Europe and the Americas earlier this year and its former global M&A head Kamal Jabre's left for U.S. rival JPMorgan.

Chua, who joined HSBC ( HSBC ) in 2022 from Credit Suisse to lead its M&A business in Asia, has more than 20 years' experience advising international blue-chip companies on complex cross-border M&A transactions.

Meanwhile, Vikas Seth will chair the M&A business at HSBC ( HSBC ), in addition to his role as vice chair for corporate and institutional banking that focuses on strategic client engagement.

(Reporting by Selena Li; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)