China’s securities regulator has also granted license to five other banks including The Bank of East Asia (BKEAY), DBS Bank, United Overseas Bank, Hang Seng Bank (HSNGY), Nanyang Commercial Bank for the same business.
This decision will enable all the seven banking conglomerates to tap the CNY4trn ($647bn) Chinese mutual fund market.
Previously, foreign lenders were able to sell only Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) funds to their Chinese clients.
Oversea-Chinese Banking and Standard Chartered have also applied for a license to sell local mutual funds in China.
London-headquartered bank HSBC will market local funds managed by its joint venture (JV), HSBC Jintrust Fund Management, while Citi is planning to sell the mutual funds in collaboration with seven other mutual fund companies.
It is expected that the decision to open Chinese financial markets for global banks will boost their market share in the country’s financial markets.
