HONG KONG, June 18 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs ( GS ) will

leverage a major revamp in Asia to capture a larger share of the

investment banking market and capitalize on "strong tailwinds",

the Wall Street bank's newly appointed regional investment

banking chief told Reuters.

Since September 2024, the bank has unified its merger and

acquisition (M&A) teams, combined financial and strategic

investor units and introduced a capital solutions group in the

region, before merging three investment banking businesses and

appointing Iain Drayton to head the integrated regional

franchise last month.

The 19-year Goldman veteran, speaking for the first time

since the revamp, said the regional integration is seen as a way

to "expand the overall commercial opportunity in Asia-Pacific".

"By operating as a unified APAC platform, we can provide

broader insights, more seamless execution, and deeper,

regionally coordinated coverage," he said.

Before the revamp, Goldman Sachs' ( GS ) investment banking

businesses in Japan, Australia and New Zealand, and the rest of

Asia were separately operated.

Drayton, who previously led the Asia operations excluding

Japan, said there has been a clear pickup in large-scale M&A and

a meaningful uptick in equity capital markets activity across

the region following the integration.

"On an APAC basis, we're seeing some strong tailwinds at the

moment - quite a contrast to the headwinds that defined the past

two to three years," Drayton said.

"Market sentiment, investor engagement, and transaction

momentum are all moving in a more constructive direction."

Wall Street banks have voiced concerns over delays for deals

as U.S. tariff policies roiled markets and stalled activity.

But dealmaking has resumed and markets have stabilised in

Asia in recent weeks, with investors poised to deploy capital

where valuations are compelling, Drayton said.

Goldman Sachs ( GS ) ranked top in Asia Pacific's equity capital

markets league table this year as of Monday, having worked on

$12 billion worth of such deals, ahead of rivals JP Morgan

and Morgan Stanley ( MS ), data from Dealogic showed.

The bank placed third in announced M&A, advising on $111

billion of deals, trailing Nomura Holdings ( NMR ) and Morgan

Stanley ( MS ), the data showed.