Goldman Sachs Pursues Majority Stake in Chinese Securities Joint-venture

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Goldman Sachs has applied to acquire majority control of its securities joint-venture in China.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) announced that it had received an application from the US investment bank on Monday to increase its 33% stake in its Chinese joint-venture, Goldman Sachs Gao Hua Securities.

Goldman reportedly hopes to obtain full ownership in the joint venture as soon as Chinese regulations permit, consistent with its other global operations.

Goldman Sachs Gao Hua was the first joint-venture of its kind when it was launched 15 years ago in 2004 under the leadership of then-Goldman chair and chief executive Henry Paulson.

The joint-venture enjoys close ties to leading Chinese investors and institutions, and is partially owned by Legend Holdings.

The application from Goldman Sachs arrives following efforts by Beijing to further open the Chinese financial sector to foreign investment.

In December UBS became the first foreign bank to garner approval from CSRC to obtain majority ownership in its domestic joint-venture, grabbing the greenlight to increase its stake in Beijing-based UBS Securities from 24.99% to 51%.

Credit Suisse, JPMorgan and Nomura have also all applied to obtain majority stakes in their Chinese security joint-ventures.