ICBC unit

INDUSTRIAL and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the country’s biggest listed lender by assets, has won approval to set up a wealth management unit, China’s banking and insurance regulator said.

China’s five major commercial banks that have won a green light to set up wealth management units are preparing to launch operations, the China Banking and Insurance regulatory Commission said in a statement on its website. More banks have submitted applications for establishing such subsidiaries, the regulator said but did not give further details.

US Treasuries

AFTER decreasing for six consecutive months, China’s holdings of U.S. Treasuries slightly rebounded to US$1.123 trillion in December, according to data released by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

China, which is still the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasuries, held US$1.121 trillion of U.S. Treasuries in November, down by US$17.5 billion from the previous month.

Risk management

THE government has published a guideline to speed up the launch of risk management business by futures companies, according to the China Futures Association (CFA).

The guideline will instruct the futures firms to establish subsidiary corporations mainly piloting operation of risk management business. CFA data showed that by the end of 2018, there are 79 risk management companies in China’s futures industry, 28 more than that in 2015.