Stephen Roach, the Morgan Stanley chief economist who predicts China will overtake the U.S. as the dominant economy within two decades, will become the firm’s Asia chairman, leading a push to arrange more takeovers and stock sales in the region, Bloomberg has reported.
Roach, 61, will take up his post in June and move to Hong Kong in September, Morgan Stanley said in an e-mailed statement. He replaces Alasdair Morrison, who retired this month.
A 25-year Morgan Stanley veteran, Roach in past years has repeatedly said the U.S. economy will stagnate, only to be proven wrong as expansion continued. Roach, who forecasts China may overtake the U.S. as the biggest contributor to global growth by 2025, cautioned on April 20 that failure to rein in lending and investment may derail the nation’s economic boom.
“China is at a critical juncture in its extraordinary development saga – needing to make the transition from an export- and investment-led growth dynamic to more of a consumer- led economy,” Roach said in an e-mailed response to questions. “I am confident that China is up to this daunting challenge – but it will take both time and determination to pull it off.”
Roach’s task in Asia will be to manage relationships with governments, companies and clients in the region, the release said. Hans Schuettler leads day-to-day operations as Asia chief executive officer.