Goldman appointment thwarted by language requirement

The executive selected by Goldman Sachs to run its China joint venture, Gao Hua Securities, will not be able to take the position because his Chinese language skills are not good enough, the Financial Times reported, citing sources at Gao Hua. At the end of last year, the China Securities Regulatory Commission made it compulsory for senior executives to pass a Chinese financial knowledge test. Richard Ong, the ethnically Chinese, Malaysian-born co-head of Goldman's Asia investment banking division, has been working at Gao Hua for six months. Exemptions have been made for non-Chinese speakers in the past, according to industry sources, so it is a surprise that Goldman – which has been very successful in China – has fallen foul of regulators. Goldman and UBS are the only international investment banks to have effective control over Chinese brokerages.