CREDIT Suisse has agreed to take majority control of Chinese securities venture Credit Suisse Founder Securities Ltd. (CSFS), boosting its stake to 51 percent from 33.3 percent via a capital injection. Under the deal, the stake held by Credit Suisse’s partner Founder Securities Co. will fall to 49 percent. Credit Suisse did not say earlier this week how much capital it planned to inject should regulators approve the deal. China now allows foreign banks to hold controlling stakes in securities joint ventures as a major part of the country’s pledge to ease ownership curbs, especially in the trillion-dollar financial sector. Swiss rival UBS Group became the first foreign bank to hold a majority stake in a Chinese securities venture when China’s securities regulator gave the go-ahead in November under new rules announced by Chinese regulators in 2017. JP Morgan and Nomura also won Chinese regulatory approval last month to set up majority-owned brokerage joint ventures. The China Securities Regulatory Commission said it would continue to approve foreign brokerage joint ventures efficiently. The biggest global investment banks, which struggled to build their China businesses under rules that previously limited them to 49 percent ownership, had long sought the lifting of such limits on joint ventures. Established in 2008 and headquartered in Beijing, CSFS provides capital markets services in the Chinese domestic market, including sponsoring and underwriting A shares, foreign investment shares, and government and corporate bonds. It also provides financial advisory services, Credit Suisse said. (SD-Agencies) |