In a latest attempt to foray into the growing financial services sector in China, Macquarie Group has formed a Shanghai-based trust company joint venture with two state-controlled companies – Beijing Sanjili Energy and Beijing Rongda Investment – reported Wall Street Journal.
In the joint venture – Sino-Australian International Trust, Macquarie owns 19.99%, the maximum an overseas firm is allowed in a China company. Beijing Sanjili Energy, a state-owned power generation company, owns 60% and Beijing Rongda Investment holds the remaining 20.01%.
The joint venture, which has an initial capital of CNY300 million, is expected to allow the Australia-based bank to arrange yuan-denominated financial products, domestic debt and equity financing to wealthy investors.
Andrew Low, head of Macquarie Capital Asia, said: The joint venture will allow us to extend our client service capability as we build a domestic distribution network and to arrange financing for international clients operating in China and locally based corporates, reported the newspaper.
