GS Goldman Sachs Group Inc

   By Yifan Wang and Jing Yang 
 

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has named Sean Fan as its new co-head for investment banking in China, beefing up its senior ranks ​​at a time of record stock sales by Chinese companies.

Mr. Fan, who also goes by Xiang Fan, will run the New York-based firm's investment banking division in China alongside Wei Cai, who is currently leading the business, according to an internal memo seen Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal. A Goldman spokesman confirmed the contents of the memo.

Mr. Fan, who is based in Beijing, has been a partner at Goldman since 2018 and holds degrees from Yale University and Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He has worked at the bank for more than a decade. In his most recent role, he was responsible for corporate private equity investments in China in Goldman's asset-management division, according to the memo.

The memo said Mr. Fan will continue to work closely with the asset management teams to advise on strategy and new opportunities in the region.

Goldman Sachs in December became the first foreign bank to seek full ownership of its China securities joint venture, joining a host of U.S. banks eager to expand in the country. Beijing has been offering U.S. companies greater access to its massive financial sector as part of a compromise made in the first phase of the U.S.-China trade pact signed in early 2020.

International banks have long coveted a bigger presence in China, but the country's recent boom in share sales, aided by a strong economic rebound and geopolitical tensions pushing companies to seek listings closer to home, has made the market even more attractive.

Proceeds from initial public offerings and other types of equity offerings by Chinese companies jumped 90% to exceed $281 billion in 2020, a record, according to Refinitiv data. More than half of the total amount was raised from onshore deals.

Write to Yifan Wang at yifan.wang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 20, 2021 06:42 ET (10:42 GMT)

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