[LONDON] Noble Group Ltd, Asia's biggest commodity trader by sales, hired Kareem Barbir to trade industrial metals concentrates, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Mr Barbir, previously with Nyrstar NV, joined this week and is based in London, said the sources, who asked not be identified because the information has not been made public.

Hong Kong-based Noble has been expanding its industrial metals business beyond aluminium. The trading house was chosen last year by Nyrstar, a producer of refined zinc, to market part of the company's European output. Mark Hansen has been heading the physical and derivative metals trading since 2012.