UBS set to buy stake in Chinese securities JV

UBS Group AG is in discussions to acquire a majority stake in its Chinese securities joint venture, Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti said, as global banks rush to take advantage of Beijing’s pledge to further open its financial markets. UBS has started talks with its local partners on taking a 51 percent stake in the venture, Ermotti said in an interview in Shanghai on Monday with Bloomberg Television’s Tom Mackenzie. He also said UBS is ahead of its plan to double headcount in China over a five year period, saying the Zurich-based bank may have 1,200 staff in the country by the end of this year. Other global securities giants such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc have already signaled a desire to take majority stakes in their Chinese ventures, following the government’s announcement in November last year that it would relax foreign ownership restrictions.