Morgan Stanley named top underwriter

High profile efforts to woo China business have paid off for US investment bank Morgan Stanley, which was the top underwriter of public offerings in China in the 12 months ending on June 30, Bloomberg reported. The company beat out Goldman Sachs, Bank of China and UBS. Morgan Stanley advised on half of the 10 largest offerings by Chinese companies in the period, including the US$9.2 billion IPO of China Construction Bank. The company also helped back offerings valued at US$4.72 billion and took US$135 million in fees. "China is the biggest source of revenue for investment banks in Asia, and anyone who views this as a second-priority market is mistaken," Liang Zhanchong, director of Hong Kong-based Global Fortune Investment Research Centre told Bloomberg.