BlackRock Gets Approval to Start Wealth Management Business in China

   By Yifan Wang 
 

BlackRock Inc. has gotten the go-ahead from Chinese regulators to start a wealth management business in the country, joining a host of international financial institutions expanding into China's fast-growing financial market.

The world's largest money manager said Wednesday that it has received approval from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission to begin asset management operations in China.

The business will be carried out through a joint venture that will be 50.1% owned by BlackRock. China Construction Bank Corp. will have a 40% stake while Singapore state investment firm Temasek Holdings will own the remaining 9.9%.

BlackRock has been making inroads into China's massive financial industry, as Beijing opens up the sector to American companies as a major compromise of the U.S.-China trade deal. Last year, the company was given the green light to set up a wholly owned mutual-fund business in Shanghai, and it became one of the first foreign investment firms to start managing money for China's vast pool of individual investors.

Major U.S. banks have rushed to capture opportunities in China as well. Citigroup Inc. last month pushed to set up a new investment bank in China, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has applied for full control of its local securities unit. JPMorgan Chase & Co. operates a fully controlled futures business in the country and is awaiting approval to take 100% ownership of its local asset management venture.

"The Chinese market represents a significant opportunity to help meet the long-term goals of investors in China and internationally," said BlackRock Chairman and Chief Executive Laurence D. Fink.

Write to Yifan Wang at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 12, 2021 07:10 ET (11:10 GMT)

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