SHANGHAI/HONG KONG - UBS has appointed former Credit Suisse executive Janice Hu to replace Eugene Qian as head of its business in China, the Swiss bank said on Thursday.

Qian has decided to step down for family reasons after more than nine years at UBS in China and is exploring other opportunities within the company, UBS said in an emailed statement.

Hu, currently Vice Chair of UBS Securities and Chair of Global Banking China, will step into her new role from Sept. 16.

Hu was previously China head for Credit Suisse, which was acquired by UBS. She will report to UBS APAC President Iqbal Khan.

Qian, who is also chairman of UBS Securities, will continue working on several strategic initiatives relating to China after the Credit Suisse acquisition, UBS said.

(Reporting by Shanghai newsroom Editing by Jason Neely and David Goodman )