HONG KONG (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (N:JPM) said it plans to expand its China investment banking team headcount by 40 percent to 50 percent over the next two to three years, as it looks to grab a bigger share of the country's fast-growing technology-related deals.
The new headcount additions would also be part of its move to set up an onshore securities joint venture in China, which is subject to approval from the Chinese regulatory authorities, the Wall Street bank said in a statement. It did not disclose the current headcount at its China investment banking team.
JPMorgan's China hiring plan comes as it seeks to sharpen focus on investment banking coverage of technology companies, ranging from digital healthcare and ride hailing service providers to mobile banking and biotechnology firms.
"China is the country that just has leapfrogged, surpassing many things that happened in the West for the last decade," said Murli Maiya, co-head of investment banking for Asia Pacific at JPMorgan.
"The new economy in China is newer than and very different from many economies anywhere in the West," he said, adding JPMorgan is making all its China investment banking coverage sectors, including financials and automotive, technology-focused.
JPMorgan's plan for China investment banking expansion comes as a slew of Chinese technology companies, or so-called unicorns, have raised or are planning to raise billions of dollars through public and private markets.