US-based physical commodities merchant Freepoint Commodities has appointed Janet Kong as Head of Asia, effective mid-July. She will be in charge of directing and expanding the company's business in the Asia Pacific region, including the clean energy trading line.

Kong has over two decades of experience in international energy and financial markets. She joins Freepoint from BP IST, the oil supply and trading arm of BP, where she was CEO of the Americas and previously the Eastern Hemisphere business. In those roles, she was responsible for strategies around trading market conditions and commodities, shipping, and data and digital technologies. Prior to BP, she was Managing Director at China International Capital Corporation and before that Goldman Sachs Asia. She also did stints at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the International Monetary Fund.

Her new role at Freepoint will begin at a time when the company is pushing to add more sustainable solutions to its portfolio. Over the last year, the majority of Freepoint's high-profile deals and partnerships involved investing in clean energy, recycling solutions, and other sustainability-focused lines.

Freepoint CEO David Messer also highlighted how Kong's experience with carbon control at a high level will help drive the company's sustainability strategy.

"Janet's long experience in managing supply and trading businesses will help Freepoint further strengthen its presence in the APAC region," he said. "Given her background in economic and commodity research, together with her first-hand market knowledge and deep customer relationships, I am confident Janet will build on the momentum we have generated over the past seven years in expanding our Asian operations. Furthermore, her understanding of carbon-reduction products and markets will help Freepoint globally as we transition to more environmentally-friendly energy solutions."