Morgan Stanley taps Hu to lead China investment banking push

NEW YORK, UNITED STATES: Morgan Stanley has named James Hu as vice chairman of China as the US bank seeks to build up its investment banking business in the world’s second-largest economy.

He will work closely with offshore and onshore teams to help boost the China investment banking business by growing its client base and strengthening senior client relationships across sectors. The appointment was confirmed by a spokesperson for the bank.

Hu has more than 15 years of investment banking experience, most recently as vice chairman of Asia investment banking at Bank of America Corp. He was previously head of China investment banking at BofA and also held senior leadership roesl at Citigroup Inc.

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Asia Pacific has come out of the blocks much faster than the US and Europe in dealmaking activity this year. Some of the largest deals include the potential $19 billion sale of CK Hutchison Holdings Limited’s ports business. China Mobile Limited is also seeking to acquire Hong Kong broadband provider HKBN Limited.

In equity capital markets, Xiaomi Corp – on an expansion into electric vehicles and BYD Co. raised about $11 billion in stock offerings in March. Second listings are also a strong source of deals, including Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited’s potention $5 billion share sale.