Goldman Hires New Head of Asia Mining Team

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) has tapped Johan van Jaarsveld from Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) to head a newly created team advising mining and metals companies in Asia outside Japan, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Mergers among metals and mining companies in the Asia-Pacific region reached a record at $98 billion last year. Goldman joins Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) and Nomura Holdings (NYSE: NMR) among companies bulking up teams of natural resources bankers in the past two years as demand for raw materials in China and India surged.

Jaarsveld joined Blackstone as a managing director at its advisory unit in 2008, and he was former Lehman Brothers banker. Jaarsveld starts with Goldman this week and will be based in Hong Kong.