JPMorgan Applies to Launch Joint-Venture Brokerage in China

By Allison Prang and Emily Glazer

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is seeking approval from a Chinese regulator to launch a joint-venture brokerage in the country, becoming the latest bank to explore the opportunity after Chinese authorities loosened rules on foreign firms controlling such ventures.

J.P. Morgan Broking (Hong Kong) Ltd., a unit of the company, has applied to seek a 51% stake in a joint-venture brokerage in China, said Gao Li, a spokeswoman for the China Securities Regulatory Commission, on Thursday. The CSRC will review the application, the spokeswoman said.

A person familiar with the matter said JPMorgan's strategy in China is to invest and learn more about doing business in the country. JPMorgan hopes to incorporate more of its corporate bankers and cover more clients, this person said, adding that the regulatory process will likely take time.

JPMorgan had established a Chinese onshore investment-banking joint venture in 2011 with First Capital Securities Co. It owned 33.3% of the venture, but in 2016 entered talks to transfer the stake.

China's securities regulator said earlier this week that Nomura Holdings Inc., a Japan-based financial-services company, was also looking to establish a 51% stake in a joint venture. In addition, UBS Group AG has applied for a controlling stake in its existing joint venture in China.

In April, the country's securities regulator released guidelines permitting foreign companies to control 51% of local securities joint ventures. The shareholding restriction for foreign financial firms is set to be lifted in three years.

--Stella Yifan Xie contributed to this article.

Write to Allison Prang at allison.prang@wsj.com and Emily Glazer at emily.glazer@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 10, 2018 11:25 ET (15:25 GMT)

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