Chae arrived in Hong Kong from New York in 2011, with a mandate to rebuild and localize the firm in Asia, taking over from Ben Jenkins who was Asia head at that time.

Chae will remain head of private equity for Asia, and will continue to oversee Blackstone's operations in the region from New York. He will also reassume responsibility for global media and communications investments, said the memo from the firm's president Tony James.

Chae will also help oversee the investment process for Blackstone's Tactical Opportunities division, working closely with the group's deal teams.

The memo also said Ed Huang and Yi Luo will lead Blackstone's private equity investing in China, while Jan Nielsen and James Carnegie will lead investing outside China.

Blackstone's team in Asia has more than doubled since the financial crisis, and the firm now has 225 people in the region and last year opened a new office in Singapore, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.

The firm last year completed the $625 million buyout of Pactera Technology International, the second-largest private equity buyout in China last year, a deal which was led by Huang.

Blackstone has raised $17 billion from investors in Asia during Chae's three years in the region, said the source, who could not be named as details of the fundraising were private.

The contents of the memo were confirmed by an external spokeswoman.

(Reporting by Stephen Aldred in HONG KONG and Greg Roumeliotis in NEW YORK; Editing by Paul Tait and Christopher Cushing)

By Stephen Aldred and Greg Roumeliotis