MS / CICC: one careful owner

John Foley Morgan Stanley is selling its stake in a Chinese investment bank because control was proving elusive. Whoever buys its 34% slice of China International Capital Corporation is unlikely to gain control either. That need not faze potential bidders, though. A passive stake in CICC could be attractive – if the Wall Street bank makes it financially attractive. CICC was once Morgan Stanley’s great hope for China. The US firm bought the stake for $35m in 1995, and put in plenty of elbow gre...