UBS’ plans to set up an asset management joint venture in the mainland with China Life have been reportedly stalled due in part to an ongoing corruption probe of the latter's former chairman.
Discussions for UBS and China Life Insurance to set up an asset management joint venture in the mainland have stalled, according to a «Reuters» report citing unnamed sources.
This is due to a review of all plans initiated under the watch of Wang Bin – the ex-China Life chairman that oversaw the establishment of the joint venture plans with UBS in late 2020 – who was put under investigation by the corruption watchdog in January.
WMP Rules
In addition, the plans are also being reviewed as the scope for the business was overestimated after China’s banking and insurance regulator published new rules in 2021.
The original plan was to sell wealth management products (WMP) through China Life’s numerous insurance agents but under the new rules by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), WMPs are only allowed to be distributed y banks and other deposit-taking financial institutions.
UBS was seeking majority ownership in the venture but the discussions have now been stalled though not formally canceled, the report added.
