(12 January 2016 – China) UBS Group plans to double its workforce in China over five years, adding around 600 people according to the investment bank’s CEO Sergio Ermotti.
“China is not on its own with those challenges,” Ermotti said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Shanghai this week.
“Those are also the good times to plan for the future, and that’s the reason why we are starting to implement our strategic plan.”
Ermotti said the staff increases will be across wealth management, investment banking, equities, fixed income and asset management.
While competitors such as Barclays and Standard Charted scale back operations in Asia, the Swiss based bank will begin its biggest push in China against an uncertain and volatile market.
“China is a great opportunity like it has been for the last 20 years,” Ermotti added, saying that it will be a “challenging” year for banks globally.