CSRC receives application from Citi to re-enter securities market

The China Securities Regulatory Commission announced on Friday it received Citi Inc's application for regulatory approval for the establishment of a securities company in China, among similar applications by other financial institutions.

A Citi China spokesman said, "We continue to assess opportunities that will support our global and local clients' onshore business."

Citi is striving for re-entry in China's securities market with the aim of setting up a wholly owned domestic securities business in the country after it exited the market in 2019, Financial Times reported on Friday.

Citigroup Global Markets Asia Ltd sold its 33.3 percent stake in Citi Orient Securities to its joint venture partner, Orient Securities Co, in 2019.

The CSRC lifted the foreign ownership cap on securities companies starting April 1, 2020, allowing qualified foreign investors to render applications to establish new wholly owned securities companies or change actual controllers in their existing joint ventures, to further implement China's policy of opening up its financial sectors.

The Chinese authorities gave the nod to JP Morgan to become the first overseas company to fully own a securities company in China in August. Two months later, Goldman Sachs also received regulatory approval to take full control of its mainland securities business.