Citadel to resume hedge fund business in Japan with Tokyo office

KEN Griffin’s hedge fund firm Citadel is planning to set up a team in Tokyo, returning to Japan more than a decade after it shuttered operations there during the global financial crisis, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The company is applying for an investment management licence to operate a hedge fund in the country and seeking to tap local talent, the person said, asking not to be named because the matter is private. Citadel has yet to decide when the office will open, the person added.

Griffin is expanding his footprint in Asia. His other firm Citadel Securities, which focuses on market-making business, has more than doubled its headcount in the region in the past three years.

The latest move is a plus for Tokyo’s ambitions to improve its status as a financial hub. Citadel Securities opened an office in the Japanese capital last year to sell US fixed-income offerings.

The Financial Times reported about the hedge fund’s plans earlier. The company declined to comment in an emailed statement. BLOOMBERG