Morgan Stanley appoints Badalia as Southeast Asia M&A head

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Morgan Stanley has named Rikhit Badalia, a member of its Asia Pacific mergers and acquisitions team, as the M&A head for Southeast Asia with immediate effect, according to a memo seen by Reuters.

Hong Kong-based Badalia takes over from Jonathan Pflug, who is joining U.S. investment bank Raine Group to lead its coverage in Southeast Asia, Reuters reported last month.

Badalia, who has been with Morgan Stanley since 2010, started out as an analyst in its Mumbai office before taking up roles in Singapore and Hong Kong with a focus on the tech, media and telecoms sector.

Badalia will remain the M&A operations officer for Asia Pacific, the memo said.

A Morgan Stanley spokesperson confirmed the contents of the memo. Bloomberg reported news of Badalia’s appointment late on Monday.

(Reporting by Anshuman Daga; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)