JPMorgan Chase has announced that it has applied with China’s securities regulator to establish a majority owned joint-venture securities firm, following the recent lifting of ceilings on foreign ownership of key financial institutions.
JPMorgan said that Mark Leung had been appointed the chief executive for China, after serving as co-head of global equities and prime services with Jason Sippel.
The US investment bank became one of few foreign banks to withdraw from the Chinese securities market back in 2016, after exiting its joint venture with First Capital Securities.
JPMorgan’s latest announcement follows the official launch of the “Foreign Invested Securities Company Administrative Measures” (外商投资证券公司管理办法) on 28 April, that lifted foreign ownership restrictions for domestic securities firms.
The new measures permit foreign investors to obtain controlling stakes in joint-venture securities companies, as well as expands the scope of permitted business operations.
Nomura Holdings and Swiss-investment bank UBS both applied with the China Securities Regulatory Commission to obtain controlling stakes in Chinese joint-venture securities companies in early May.
Until now HSBC is the only foreign bank to obtain a majority stake in a national-level Chinese securities joint-venture, by taking advantage of special exemptions granted to Hong Kong-infund institutions.
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