Goldman Sachs Group has spoken publicly only in broad strokes about its strategy for China as the gates come down this year.
The
news swept through Goldman’s offices around China, changing
everything.
On
a Friday afternoon in late 2017, an official in Beijing announced
that the world’s most populous nation would let Wall Street banks
expand across its markets. Goldman had spent more than a decade
waiting in frustration for that chance. Regional bosses including
James Paradise and Todd Leland urgently worked the phones, pinning
down details to inform headquarters in New York.
Since
then, Goldman
Sachs Group has spoken publicly only in broad strokes about its
strategy for China as the gates come down this year. But inside the
firm, a massive effort is taking shape. Three months ago, a team of
executives presented a five-year plan for China to the board, calling
for the bank to take control of a joint venture it set up with a
Chinese securities firm in 2004. Infused with hundreds of millions of
dollars in new capital, the unit would embark on a hiring spree to
double its workforce to 600 and ramp up a wide variety of businesses.
The
strategy—described by senior Goldman executives and others familiar
with the plan — shows how Chief Executive Officer David Solomon and
President John Waldron are taking up the mantle once carried by
former CEO Hank Paulson, betting China will finally make the world’s
second-largest economy a more level playing field for foreign
investment banks. Last year, they traveled to China seven times to
meet senior officials, laying the groundwork. Another round of visits
is set for 2020.
“We’re
increasingly optimistic that we’re going to have the opportunity to
actually move more in the right direction, maybe even faster than we
thought,” Waldron said in an interview last week. “If you’re
going to have a successful business in China, you need to have an
appropriate relationship with the government because so much
happening in China relates to the government.”
No comments:
Post a Comment