HONG KONG (Reuters) - Tech specialists Raghav Maliah and Jung Min have been appointed co-heads of Goldman Sachs' GS.N mergers and acquisitions in Asia Pacific excluding Japan as former head John Kim moves to global private equity giant Carlyle Group.

FILE PHOTO: The ticker symbol and logo for Goldman Sachs is displayed on a screen on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., December 18, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

Kim, a 19-year veteran of the bank’s Asia business, joins Carlyle as a managing director of its Asian buyout team, and will lead its activities in Korea, according to a press release from the private equity group.

Goldman told staff that Kim was retiring from the bank and praised his role as a “trusted advisor to many of our clients” and his involvement in several industry-leading transactions, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters.

Kim spent 19 years with the bank in Asia, moving between his native Korea and Hong Kong. He headed Goldman Sachs Korea before taking over the M&A division in 2014.

The bank also told staff on Wednesday that Maliah and Min, who currently co-lead the bank’s technology, media and telecoms (TMT) business in Asia ex-Japan (AEJ), would assume leadership of Mergers & Acquisition (M&A) for the region too.

Maliah, who joined the bank in 2000 and made partner in 2010, is also global vice-chairman of Goldman’s investment banking business.

Min, who became a partner in 2016, was also recently named co-chief operating officer of the bank’s global TMT business.

“This commitment of senior bankers to our M&A franchise, with their deep experience across industries and geographies, will strategically align our team to capture the anticipated growth in merger activity in AEJ,” the bank said in a memo to staff.

The news comes as Goldman chief executive David Solomon marks one year at the helm of the Wall Street giant. In an internal podcast interview to mark the anniversary, Solomon said he had focused on making sure the bank’s clients were the center of its thinking.

“We’re a divisional firm, we’ve always been a divisional firm, but I think there’s a great opportunity to make sure for our clients that we’re delivering the whole firm,” he added.

Goldman ranked second behind Morgan Stanley MS.N in a league table of M&A for Asia Pacific including Japan at the end of the third quarter, according to Refinitiv data, having advised on deals worth $108.4 billion.

The region has been hit harder than elsewhere by a drop in global deal volumes as uncertainties over the economic outlook and rising trade tensions between the U.S. and China weigh on M&A appetite.

Dealmaking volumes in Asia-Pacific fell 30% year-on-year to $751 billion as at end-September according to Refinitiv data, while globally volumes fell 11% to $2.8 trillion.