JP Morgan Becomes the First Foreign Firm to Take Full Ownership of A Securities Unit in China

The CSRC (China Securities Regulatory Commission) has approved the registration of JP Morgan International Finance Limited taking 100% ownership of its China securities joint venture, JP Morgan Securities (China).

JP Morgan already had a controlling stake in the venture, raising its stake in the company to 71% in November.

The new approval will make JP Morgan the first foreign firm to fully own a securities venture in China, the bank said in a statement, adding that the move would help to broaden its client base in the region.

"China represents one of the largest opportunities in the world for many of our clients and for JPMorgan Chase," chief executive officer Jamie Dimon said in the statement on 6 August.

"Our scale and global capabilities give us a unique ability to help Chinese companies grow internationally and also support global investors as they expand into China's maturing capital markets."

Goldman Sachs and UBS are also seeking regulatory approval to take full ownership in their securities venture, after China scrapped foreign ownership caps in its mutual fund and securities sectors on 1 April 2020.

The pace at which Chinese regulators are granting approvals appears to be increasing. In the past week, the CSRC has granted approvals to Fidelity for a mutual fund unit.