By Gabriel Chen

A MAJOR global financial institution is going ahead with a hiring spree in Singapore in the next few months in defiance of the gloom in the financial sector.

That was the good news delivered by newly appointed chief executive for BNP Paribas Wealth Management Asia-Pacific Serge Forti as he hits the ground running.

BNP Paribas, France's biggest bank, has a headcount of about 300 at its wealth management unit here. This number is likely to rise to nearly 500 by the end of the first quarter of next year, Mr Forti said.

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