Ex-Goldman trader Qin Xiao starts Singapore hedge fund, gets US$1 billion allocation from Millennium
Singapore-based Nexus Commodities Capital Management plans to start trading later this year with about US$1 billion from Millennium and additional cash from other investors, according to sources familiar with the matter. Qin will run a separately managed account for Millennium on a non-exclusive basis, the sources said, asking not to be identified discussing private information.
Known to colleagues as QX, Qin joins a growing cohort of big-name traders winning allocations from multi-strategy hedge funds looking for ways to deploy their soaring assets. Millennium is among the most aggressive with recent external allocations to people, including Ravi Naresh, who previously managed money for Marshall Wace, and Thomas Wong's hedge fund firm Optimas Capital Management.
Nexus Commodities' kick-off is a rare win in Asia's hedge funds startup scene this year, as fledgling managers are struggling to attract North American institutional investors amid geopolitical tensions.
A graduate of China's prestigious Tsinghua University and the National University of Singapore, Qin oversaw some of Goldman Sachs' most profitable commodity trading businesses after the pandemic, as the firm capitalised on increased volatility. He was at the bank for more than two decades before departing.
Qin and Nitin Jindal were named co-heads of Goldman Sachs's commodities trading business when its former leader Ed Emerson stepped down in late 2023.
Qin had previously helmed commodities trading in Asia and in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He and Anthony Dewell positioned their desks with foresight ahead of the Covid-19 era oil price collapse, securing substantial gains for the firm. Dewell is now global head of commodities at Millennium.
The investment team Qin has assembled for his own firm includes Mark Ma, a former head of Asia bulk commodity trading at Goldman Sachs, according to two of the sources. Wang Yang, previously a Shanghai-based commodities trader at the Wall Street bank, is also poised to join, one of the sources added.
Ma and a representative for Millennium declined to comment. Qin and Wang did not reply to requests for comment. BLOOMBERG
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Uncertainty persists despite EU-US trade deal, says ECB's Lagarde
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde said the US' plans for sector-specific levies on pharmaceutical goods and semiconductors remain unclear. BERLIN - The US-EU trade deal has eased but 'certainly not eliminated' global uncertainty, European Central Bank (ECB) president Christine Lagarde said on Aug 20. Speaking at a panel at the World Economic Forum in Geneva, Ms Lagarde said the deal had left the effective US tariff rate for EU goods at between 12 and 16 per cent. The tariff rate was 'somewhat higher' than the ECB had forecast, she said, adding that President Donald Trump's plans for sector-specific levies on pharmaceutical goods and semiconductors remain unclear. The ECB expects euro zone activity to slow in the third quarter of 2025, after a strong start to the year. Ms Lagarde said that 'global growth has remained broadly steady so far' but cautioned that 'this resilience has been mainly driven by tariff-induced distortions of economic activity'. She noted that, in the first quarter of the year, 'importers boosted their inventories in anticipation of higher tariffs'. Mr Trump has imposed painful import tariffs on countries around the world in an attempt to boost US manufacturing and reduce his country's colossal trade deficit. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 18 persons nabbed and 82 vapes seized in HSA ops in Raffles Place and Haji Lane Singapore 3 Sengkang Green Primary pupils suspended for bullying classmate, with 1 of them caned: MOE Singapore Woman trapped between train doors: Judge rules SBS Transit '100% responsible' Singapore Religion growing in importance for Singaporeans: IPS study Life Record number of arts patrons in 2024, but overall donation dips to $45.74m Life 'Loss that's irreplaceable': Local film-makers mourn closure of Singapore indie cinema The Projector Singapore Nearly 2 years' jail, caning for man caught with at least 100 sexually explicit videos of children Singapore Grab users in Singapore shocked by fares of over $1,000 due to display glitch He had initially threatened steep 30 per cent tariffs on EU imports, but in late July Brussels and Washington reached a deal which lowered that to 15 per cent, with the bloc trying to secure exemptions for certain sectors. However, in recent weeks Mr Trump has raised the possibility of additional tariffs hitting certain sectors such as pharmaceuticals, which account for 20 per cent of the the EU's exports to the United States. The EU-US deal was struck a few days after a meeting of the ECB's governing council at which it decided to hold interest rates steady after consecutive cuts. That was seen as a sign of caution as policymakers waited to see what effects the US tariffs would have. In its last macroeconomic projections in June, the ECB lowered its inflation forecast to 2 per cent for 2025 due to lower energy prices and a strengthening euro. At the same time, it lowered its forecast for GDP growth in 2026 slightly to 1.1 per cent. Ms Lagarde said that new forecasts set to published in mid-September will take into account 'the implications of the EU-US trade deal for the euro area economy'. AFP
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Oil prices rise on drop in US crude inventories as investors focus on Ukraine peace push
NEW YORK :Oil prices climbed about 1 per cent on Wednesday on a bigger-than-expected weekly drop in U.S. crude inventories as investors awaited the next steps in talks to end the Ukraine war, with sanctions on Russian crude remaining in place for now. Brent crude futures were up 56 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to $66.35 a barrel by 10:48 a.m. EDT (1448 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 66 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $63.01. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said energy firms pulled 6.0 million barrels of crude from inventories during the week ended August 15. [EIA/S] That was bigger than the draw of 1.8 million barrels forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll and the decline of 2.4 million barrels that market sources said the American Petroleum Institute trade group cited in its figures on Tuesday. "We had a decent-sized crude drawdown. We saw a rebound in exports ... That and the strong refinery demand really makes this a bullish report," said John Kilduff, partner with Again Capital. On Tuesday, crude prices fell more than 1 per cent - with WTI closing at its lowest level since May 30 - on optimism that an agreement to end the Russia-Ukraine war seemed closer. U.S. President Donald Trump, however, conceded that Russian President Vladimir Putin might not want to make a deal. "Not so sure about the peace deal - will have to see if something moves forward over the coming days ... It seems oil prices are thrown down one day, followed by a rebound the next," said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS. Trump said on Tuesday the U.S. might provide air support as part of a deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine. A day earlier, Trump said he was arranging a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to be followed by a trilateral summit among the three presidents. Russia has not confirmed it will take part in talks with Zelenskiy. "The likelihood of a quick resolution to the conflict with Russia now seems unlikely," Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ, said in a note on Wednesday.
CNA
3 hours ago
- CNA
Intel in talks with large investors for equity boost at discount, CNBC reports
Intel is in talks with other large investors to receive an equity infusion at a discounted price, CNBC reported on Wednesday, just days after the chipmaker got a $2 billion capital injection from SoftBank Group. This also follows Reuters report U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is looking into the government taking equity stakes in Intel and other chipmakers in exchange for grants under the CHIPS Act, which aims to spur factory-building in the U.S. Intel did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Silicon Valley pioneer Intel has been struggling from years of missteps in its manufacturing operation and missed opportunities around the artificial intelligence boom, culminating into one of the most difficult periods in the company's history. The company lost its competitive edge years ago to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the globe's biggest contract manufacturer. Chip designer Nvidia is dominating in the AI chips market, while Intel is losing market share in PCs and datacenters to rival Advanced Micro Devices.
