Standard Chartered approved for securities firm

Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd recently announced it has obtained regulatory approval to set up a securities firm in China.

This is the first time the China Securities Regulatory Commission has granted in-principle approval for the establishment of a securities company wholly owned by a foreign shareholder via greenfield investment in its onshore market since the lifting of foreign ownership caps in securities firms in 2020, the bank said.

With an initial capital injection of 1.05 billion yuan ($154.87 million), the Beijing-based securities firm will cover underwriting, asset management of asset-backed securities only, own-account trading and brokerage activities. It will provide products and services related to China's onshore capital markets for both onshore and offshore clients.

China is accelerating the process of granting permission to foreign institutions as part of its efforts to revive its economy and boost the confidence of overseas investors.

Benjamin Hung, CEO for Asia of Standard Chartered, said: "We are confident of the continued opening of financial markets in China, and 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. This is another major milestone for our China franchise, one we remain very committed to."

Jerry Zhang, executive vice-chairman and CEO of Standard Chartered China, said: "As China continues to open up its capital markets rapidly, the importance of Chinese assets in the global markets keeps growing while the efficiency of its resource allocation is also improving. With the official approval granted, we expect that when the securities firm launches business, Standard Chartered will be able to better serve our Chinese and overseas clients, providing holistic and high-quality financial solutions including those in exchange markets to both mainland and international enterprises and institutions 'going in' and 'going out' of China's markets."

In February 2022, Standard Chartered Group announced it will invest $300 million in China-related businesses over the next three years to help clients capture the opportunities brought by China's continuous opening-up.