Blackrock continues its expansion drive into China with the latest approval to set up a mutual fund unit in the mainland.
Blackrock was approved set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in Shanghai on August 21 this year, according to a statement last Friday from the China Securities and Regulatory Commission.
The world’s largest asset manager has six months to establish the unit, the regulator added.
Mainland Expansion Drive
China continues to open up its various parts of its domestic financial sector to foreign participants including the estimated 17.7 trillion yuan ($2.6 trillion) mutual fund sector.
In addition to the latest approved unit, Blackrock also has a private fund unit in Shanghai; a fund joint venture with Bank of China; and is in the process of setting up a wealth management joint venture with Singapore’s Temasek and China Construction Bank.
«Asia is expected to drive 50 percent of the organic [asset under management] growth in the asset management industry over the next five years, largely driven by China where there is increasing demand for more diversified and long-term investment solutions,» said Blackrock CEO Larry Fink in a statement last year that underlined the firm's ambitions to become a top player in the mainland.
