Chinese regulators have given Standard Chartered the green light to set up a securities unit in the mainland.
The China Securities and Regulatory Commission has granted in-principle approval to Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) to set up a securities firm, according to a statement.
Headquartered in Beijing, the new firm will provide services in underwriting, asset management (restricted to asset-backed securities only), own-account trading and brokerage activities. It will be led by Asia head of financial markets John Tan as chairman-designate and Grace Geng as CEO-designate.
Greenfield Investment
The firm will have an initial capital injection of 1.05 billion yuan ($155 million). According to the statement, this marks the first time that the Chinese securities regulator has granted in-principle approval for the establishment of a securities firm wholly owned by a foreign shareholder via greenfield investment in the mainland since lifting ownership restrictions in 2020.
«We are confident of the continued opening of financial markets in China, and are very positive about the country’s development prospects, in particular the promising investment value of the onshore capital markets and the growing attractiveness of Renminbi assets in offshore markets,» said Asia CEO Benjamin Hung
