HONG KONG, Sept. 17 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- iShares, Barclays Global Investors' Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) business, today announced the formation of a new iShares Capital Markets Group for Asia-Pacific. The group will work closely with iShares participating dealers and market makers across the region to ensure liquidity and competitive pricing for iShares ETFs.

The iShares Capital Markets Group will focus on iShares counterparty management and client-service including market-making activities, broker- dealer education, and thought leadership with respect to iShares trading and analytics. The Capital Markets Group will also work with iShares clients on "best-practice" execution strategies while partnering with participating dealers to ensure good-value for clients during the trading process.

The new Asia-Pacific Capital Markets Group complements existing iShares capital markets service teams in both the US and in Europe. This global coverage model enables iShares' ability to provide round-the-clock trading support to its international base of clients.

The Capital Markets Group is headed by Joseph Cavatoni, Managing Director for iShares Capital Markets in Asia-Pacific. Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Cavatoni said: "The formation of this first-of-its-kind Capital Markets Group in Asia-Pacific is a testament to iShares' commitment to this region. Our role is to help our clients in Asia-Pacific with best execution when trading iShares ETFs."

The iShares Capital Markets Group includes two new hires, David Mann and Leslie Chiu, as Directors of iShares Capital Markets. The team is based in Hong Kong managing all iShares trading and capital markets relationships for the region. The focus of the team is on dealing with Asian market participants (including participating dealers, market makers and clients) in all trading matters related to iShares. This includes working with participating dealers for seed capital in future products and further developing the "ecosystem" for existing iShares products.

Responding to the announcement, Nick Good, CEO of iShares Asia-Pacific, said: "At iShares, our singular focus is the development, distribution, and efficient functioning of our ETFs around the world. The formation of a Capital Markets Group in Asia-Pacific reflects this commitment to service and overall client-satisfaction while reinforcing our position as the world's leading provider of ETFs."

New appointments in the iShares Capital Markets Group:

David Mann, Director, iShares Capital Markets, Asia Pacific

Prior to joining iShares, David worked at LaBranche Structured Products for six years, first as a floor trader and eventually managing both the domestic and international ETF portfolios for the firm in a proprietary market making capacity. David helped set up and manage the firm's Hong Kong office, LaBranche Structured Products Hong Kong Ltd., where he was responsible for running a proprietary book for Asia listed ETFs and supporting the international book out of the US.

Leslie Chiu, Director, iShares Capital Markets, Asia Pacific

Prior to joining iShares, Leslie worked for Ward Ferry Management Ltd, an Asian long/short equity hedge fund from 2003 to 2009. She was the senior trader there, executing all orders for Asia Pacific markets including Japan and India. Previously, Leslie was an Institutional Sales-trader at Jardine Fleming Broking in both the Hong Kong and Malaysian offices from 1993 to 1998.

Notes to Editors

About iShares ETFs

iShares ETFs are index funds managed by Barclays Global Investors that are bought and sold like ordinary equities on a stock exchange. iShares ETFs are attractive to many individual and institutional investors and financial intermediaries because of their relative low cost and trading flexibility. Investors can purchase and sell iShares through any brokerage account. ETFs generally can be used to achieve many investment strategies:

    -- for buy and hold investing
    -- for active traders who wish to take advantage of market movements
    -- for investors wishing to hedge the market
    -- to enhance returns on cash deposits by equitising
    -- as an alternative to futures and other institutional investment tools

For more information about iShares ETFs, please visit http://www.ishares.com.hk for investors in Hong Kong or http://www.ishares.com.sg for investors in Singapore.

About Barclays Global Investors

Barclays Global Investors is one of the world's largest asset managers and a leading global provider of investment management products and services with more than 2,900 institutional clients and US$1.7 trillion of assets under management as of 30 June 2009. BGI transformed the investment industry by creating the first index strategy in 1971 and the first quantitative active strategy in 1979.

Disclaimer

This press release has been issued in Hong Kong and Singapore by Barclays Global Investors North Asia Limited and Barclays Global Investors Southeast Asia Limited, respectively. It has not been reviewed by the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong. This document is for informational purposes and does not constitute an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell units in any iShares funds, nor shall any units be offered or sold to any person in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Certain information in this document may be taken from external sources, which we consider reliable. We do not represent that this information is accurate or complete and should not be relied upon as such. Any opinions contained herein, which reflect our judgment at this date, are subject to change.

    iShares is a registered mark of Barclays Global Investors N.A.
    (C) 2009 Barclays Global Investors

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SOURCE Barclays Global Investors

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