Goldman to Hire, Add Capital to China Venture If It Gets Control

(Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer David Solomon said he would “significantly” increase capital in an investment banking joint venture in China, and “meaningfully” boost its headcount, if the firm is allowed to take a controlling stake in the unit and progress is made in U.S.-China trade talks.

Key Insights

• The remarks by Solomon to journalists in Beijing on Wednesday are a fresh sign of the bank’s interest in scaling up that business in China, confirming a report two years ago that the New York-based firm intends to dedicate more capital and staff to the region once it gains a majority stake in Goldman Sachs Gao Hua Securities Co. Solomon’s comments are particularly relevant because he took over as CEO after that earlier report.
• While Goldman Sachs has applied to increase its holding in the venture to 51% from 33%, “we’re excited to potentially progress and ultimately own, control 100% of our business in China,” he said.
• “Just recently, our team in China presented a five-year business plan to our board that emphasizes our continued commitment to the medium- and longterm in China to grow our business and our excitement about the opportunities that we saw to work with our clients here in China as China continues to grow.”

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• Solomon spoke Wednesday at an event at the Tsinghua University School of Economics for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women initiative, marking 10 years of the program in China. Hundreds of graduates of the program attended.

To contact the reporter on this story: Cathy Chan in Hong Kong at kchan14@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, David Scheer

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