Global investment banks aiming to take a controlling stake in their securities joint ventures in China have been dealt a blow by proposed rules from Beijing that threaten to scupper their plans, even as President Xi Jinping unveils reforms to open China’s markets.
The country has been gradually opening its financial sector to foreign banks, insurance companies and asset managers for more than a decade.
In November, the government said it would allow global banks to take controlling stakes in securities ventures after years of waiting for such reforms. Several banks have stated that they would lift their stakes as soon as regulation allowed them to do so.