Goldman planning to double China headcount in five years

Bloomberg

Goldman Sachs Group Inc plans to double its headcount in China over the next five years, provided the Communist Party-ruled nation continues down the path of opening up its financial markets.
The ambition to raise staffing to 600 is part of a five-year plan drawn up by executives at the New York-based investment bank, said a person familiar with matter who asked not to be identified discussing confidential plans.
Soon after he was elevated to the top job in 2018, Chief Executive Officer David Solomon asked for a detailed strategy for expanding in China over the next half decade. Foreign banks are preparing to push into the world’s second-largest economy, vying to tend its growing wealth and compete for as much as $9 billion in commercial and investment banking profits, Bloomberg Intelligence estimates. China, meanwhile, is looking for fresh investments to cushion its economy and to attract foreign competition to sharpen the domestic financial industry.
President Xi Jinping has set plans to let foreign investment banks take full control of units in the country by the end of this year, part of an opening of its $45 trillion financial market that also includes asset management and insurance. Goldman spent last year’s latter half honing its expansion plan, the person said.