UPDATE 1-UBS names Sclater to head Singapore prime broking

* UBS makes two key appointments in Asia prime broking

* Asian hedge funds recovering after last year's mkt meltdown (Adds detail on appointments, background)

By Saeed Azhar

SINGAPORE, Aug 12 (Reuters) - UBS (UBSN.VX) (UBS.N) has named Alastair Sclater to the new post of head of its Singapore prime brokerage, as the Swiss bank aims to build that business in Asia's second-biggest centre for hedge funds.

Singapore, which competes with rival Asian financial centre Hong Kong, has attracted asset managers, private banks and hedge funds in recent years with tax incentives and strict secrecy rules.

The city-state also provides investors the opportunity to manage part of the more than $300 billion in assets held by its sovereign wealth funds GIC and Temasek.

"Having a presence in Singapore has been a huge contributor to the number of mandates won and our ability to retain these high quality clients in the face of aggressive competition," according to an internal UBS memo seen by Reuters.

Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) are the biggest prime brokers for Asian hedge funds, according to Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research. Prime brokers offer services such as clearing, securities lending and financing for assets to hedge funds. Sclater's appointment comes after he led UBS's sales efforts in Singapore for many years, the memo said.

The bank also named Ashley Jarvis as Asia-Pacific head of prime brokerage sales and global head of business consultancy based in Hong Kong. Jarvis joined UBS in 2004.

UBS's focus on its Asian prime-broking business comes as the industry recovers from last year's market turmoil when several hedge funds shut down amid the global financial crisis.

Data from Eurekahedge shows 180 Asian-themed hedge funds closed last year, as the industry saw outflows of $24.4 billion in the last three months of 2008 and $18.3 billion in the first quarter of this year.

Asia-focused hedge funds manage about $106 billion as of now, according to Eurekahedge.

An estimated 30 Asian funds have been launched so far this year compared with about 40 exits, according to data as of June.[ID:nSIN246358]

The Chicago-based HFR index for Asia ex-Japan, which measures performance of Asia-focused funds, is up 27.50 percent from the start of the year to end-July. The index lost a third last year. (Additional reporting by Kevin Lim; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)