UBS Tokyo private equity head on sabbatical - sources

TOKYO, June 2 (Reuters) - Gary Chan is on sabbatical leave from his job leading UBS AG's (UBSN.VX) private equity coverage in Japan, two people familiar with the matter said.

The global private equity market has been ravaged by the economic downturn, and the Japan market shrank 60 percent to $9 billion in 2008, Thomson Reuters data showed. It could contract even further this year as banks remain cautious about lending.

UBS does not know how long Chan's leave will last, said one of the two sources, who both spoke on condition of anonymity as the matter has not been made public.

A Tokyo-based UBS spokesperson declined to comment on Chan's leave.

Among private equity-related deals in Japan, UBS last year advised LCD glass maker NH Techno Glass Corp, a joint venture between Hoya Corp (7741.T) and Nippon Sheet Glass (5202.T), which was sold to U.S. buyout fund Carlyle Group [CYL.UL] for $560 million, Thomson Reuters data showed. (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Joseph Radford)