JP Morgan expects unicorn startups in next 5 years

Dave Zhong | Getty Images for CNBC International

Jing Ulrich, MD & Vice Chairman of Asia Pacific of JPMorgan Chase, speaks during Fireside Chat on Day 1 of CNBC East Tech West at LN Garden Hotel Nansha Guangzhou on November 27, 2018 in Nansha, Guangzhou, China. 

More start-ups valued at $1 billion or more — so-called “unicorns” — are coming to China within the next five years, a J.P. Morgan Chase executive said on Wednesday.

“We are very excited about the prospects for technology in China,” said Jing Ulrich, managing director and vice chairman for Asia Pacific at the investment banking giant.

In particular, China is “really leading the way globally” in the realms of artificial intelligence, “new-energy” vehicles and electronic payments, Ulrich said at CNBC’s East Tech West conference in the Nansha district of Guangzhou, China.

“I would say in the next three to five years, in some of these verticals, you will have a number of unicorns and super-unicorns emerging, and they should be very, very popular among investors globally,” Ulrich said.

Unicorns are commonly defined as start-ups valued at $1 billion or more.

Ulrich’s upbeat assessment comes amid an intense trade fight between Beijing and Washington. Investors will closely watch a weekend meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.