China is further expanding access to the domestic financial sector, granting US investment giant BlackRock permission to operate the country’s first fully foreign invested mutual fund business.
On 11 June Blackrock obtained a license to engage in publicly offered mutual fund operations from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).
“We are honored to be in a position in which we can support more Chinese investors access financial markets,” said BlackRock Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink in a statement issued on Friday.
On 1 April 2020 China officially cancelled foreign ownership restrictions for fund management companies, with BlackRock and Neuberger Berman submitting applications to CSRC to establish their own mutual fund businesses on the same date.
According to figures from the Chinese central bank’s official news publication at least five asset management companies from abroad have submitted applications to establish their own mutual funds companies in China, while CSRC also given its approval 8 foreign-controlled brokerages.
In the week preceding the 11 June approval for BlackRock’s mutual funds business, both DBS Group and Daiwa Securities obtained permission from CSRC to commence operation of their own majority-owned securities joint-ventures.
In May 2021 BlackRock obtained a license from Chinese authorities to operate a majority-owned wealth management joint-venture with China Construction Bank (CCB) and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings. BlackRock holds a 50.1% stake in the joint-venture, with CCB laying claim to 40% ownership.
