Goldman's Ong joins new private equity fund

A top executive at Goldman Sachs is leaving the firm to join a private equity fund set up by its China partner, the Wall Street Journal reported. Richard Ong, who will be leaving his post as Goldman's co-head of investment banking in Asia excluding Japan in March, will partner with Fang Fenglei in the US$2 billion Hopu Fund. Ong was denied a promotion to head Goldman's China joint venture, Goldman Gao Hua Securities, last July, after he failed a compulsory Chinese-language proficiency exam administered by China's securities regulator. Hopu, which will be focused on acquisitions in China, will receive US$300 million from Goldman Sachs and US$1 billion from Temasek, the investment arm of the Singaporean government.