The former head of Asian fixed-income trading at part of Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group, Jeffrey Yap,
intends to start his own credit-focused hedge fund in Hong
Kong, Bloomberg reports.

Yap, who worked for Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd. until May,
will be joined at Ark One by two other founding partners, the news service
said, adding that Yap declined to identify
these persons. The fund will be opened to investors in mid-August, pending
license approval by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission, Yap told the news service.

The report noted that Yap
is the latest credit trader to start a fund, happening at a time of strong debt
issuance in the region enabled by low interest rates and yield premiums for
risky borrowers, as well as some relaxation of regulations.

An Asia-based institution has committed an initial $50
million toward the fund, which will invest in public and private credit in the
region with a focus on China,
Yap said.

Yap plans to raise $250
million for the fund by the end of its first year, inclusive of the money from
the institution.