Goldman Sachs cutting nearly 30 per cent of Asia investment banking jobs

Goldman Sachs is cutting almost 30 per cent of its 300 investment banking jobs in Asia outside Japan in response to a slowdown in activity in the region, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The Wall Street bank is reducing the number of bankers working on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and equity and debt capital markets deals, the sources said. Most of the jobs cuts are likely to take place in Hong Kong, Singapore and China, where Goldman's main Asian offices are located, they added.

A Goldman Sachs spokesman declined to comment.

The total value of M&A deals across the Asia-Pacific region has dropped to US$572.9 billion (S$778.7 billion) so far this year, from US$745.7 billion in the same period of 2015, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Goldman said in July it had embarked on a cost-cutting plan that would save US$700 million a year in response to a "challenging backdrop" for revenue.