There is a new country head of Malaysia for the investments house.

Franklin Templeton Investments has appointed Avinash Satwalekar as country head of Malaysia and chief executive of Franklin Templeton Asset Management (Malaysia) Sdn.

Satwalekar has relocated to Kuala Lumpur from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to take responsibility for leading the firm’s retail and institutional distribution efforts across Malaysia, and will report to Adam Quaife, regional head for Southeast Asia.

He replaces Sandeep Singh who has moved to Dubai to become senior director and regional head, Central Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa. In addition to his new role, Satwalekar will continue his involvement with the company’s business in Vietnam by serving as chairman of the board for Vietcombank Fund Management, a joint venture between Franklin Templeton and Vietcombank in Vietnam.

“With its expanding middle class, healthy growth rates in unit trust penetration, as well as an established infrastructure for Islamic finance, Malaysia is a critical part of our growth strategy in Asia," Mark Browning, MD for Asia, said.

Satwalekar was previously the CEO and chief investment officer for VCBF based in Ho Chi Minh City, and oversaw the combined business and investment activities of the group. The firm said that under his leadership, Franklin Templeton was one of the first asset managers to launch an open-ended retail fund in Vietnam. Satwalekar had served as the lead portfolio manager for the two funds domiciled in Vietnam since their respective inceptions in 2013 and 2014.

Satwalekar has over 20 years of experience at Franklin Templeton. Prior to his role in Vietnam, he was a portfolio manager and research analyst for Franklin Equity Group, based at the firm’s headquarters in San Mateo, California. He was a member of the portfolio management team for the Franklin Small Cap Growth strategy and a lead manager for private small cap accounts.