Morgan Stanley Investment Management Reaches Agreement to Acquire Stake in Abax Global Capital Limited

2007-03-12
Newly Formed Firm Will Invest in Asian Special Situations with Focus on Greater China
HONG KONG, March 12, 2007 Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) announced today that its Investment Management division (MSIM) has reached an agreement to take a significant minority ownership position in Abax Global Capital Limited (Abax global capital), a new hedge fund advisor being formed to invest in special situations in Asia. The transaction adds Abax global capital to the stable of best-inclass independent investment managers with whom MSIM collaborates, including Avenue Capital, Lansdowne Partners and Traxis Partners.
Abax global capital, to be headquartered in Hong Kong, will invest in private and public-sector issuers in Asia, with a primary focus on Greater China, including mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The firm is being founded by Chris Hsu, a former managing director at Citadel Group, with responsibility for that firm multi-billion dollar Special Situations Asia Group; Donald Yang, formerly managing director and head of Hong Kong and Greater China debt capital markets at Merrill Lynch; and Frank Qian, formerly a trader and risk manager in Asia, Europe and the U.S. at Citadel Group.
Hans Schuettler, Chief Executive Officer, Morgan Stanley Asia, said, the Asian capital markets provide exciting opportunities for growth that we are well positioned to realize given our Firm deep roots and strong platform in the region. As part of the strategy to grow our asset management business in Asia, with a specific focus on China, we are expanding the range of investment strategies we offer to both our institutional and our high net worth individual clients. And, this new alliance with Abax global capital will provide our clients access to investment expertise in a distinctive, highly attractive asset category.
Stu Bohart, Head of Alternative Investments at MSIM, said, the continue to expand the breadth and depth of our investment offerings to accommodate clients desire for innovation and high performance across a broad range of traditional and alternative asset categories. Abax global capital team, led by Chris Hsu, Donald Yang and Frank Qian, is highly regarded and has an outstanding track record in Asian capital markets. With its unique, integrated investment platform and its extraordinary level of talent, Abax global capital will be another significant enhancement to our alternative product offering.
Chris Hsu, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner of Abax global capital said, they are very pleased to be entering a strategic partnership with Morgan Stanley Investment Management. The firm support will be highly beneficial as we work together to identify the most promising investment opportunities presented by the rapid growth of Asian capital markets. We believe that combining forces in this way will provide a platform for meaningful collaboration between the companies.
In recent months, MSIM has expanded its alternative investment capability through a series of new products, partnerships and investments. In addition to launching 24 new alternative investment products in fiscal 2006, the Firm acquired FrontPoint Partners, a multi-strategy hedge fund business that focuses on providing alpha producing solutions to institutional clients.
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