Bloomberg News
HONG KONG Philip Purcell, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co.s chief executive, will travel to Beijing this month to reassure officials and clients after the resignation three weeks ago of his second-in-command, John Mack, who led the firms effort in China.
It will be Mr. Purcells first overseas trip since Mr. Mack quit. The firm is competing with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. for a greater share of international stock sales by Chinese companies. The proceeds are likely to top $20 billion this year and provide a key source of fees as U.S. investment banking slumps.
Morgan Stanleys five-year-old joint venture with China Construction Bank, China International Capital Corp., helped manage the four biggest share transactions in China last year, those by PetroChina Co., China Mobile Hong Kong Ltd., China Unicom Ltd. and China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. Mr. Mack is also resigning from the board of the Beijing venture.
