HONG KONG -- When Alexander von zur Muehlen traded a corner office in the tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong for a far pokier office with modest views of the Singapore port, he couldn't help it being seen as a vote of no confidence.
Many of his predecessors as Asia-Pacific CEO of Deutsche Bank had enjoyed the azure vistas of Hong Kong's Victoria Peak and its bustling harbor, viewed from the towering International Commerce Centre on the Kowloon Peninsula. Deutsche Bank has usually observed a "dual-hub" structure in Asia with co-CEOs in Singapore and Hong Kong for over a decade. However, "Hong Kong was always the nerve center of Asia operations," according to one former employee.
