China Greenlights Third Foreign-Controlled Wealth Management Venture

London-based investment management group Schroders has won approval for a tie-up with Bank of Communications.

China’s regulators have given the go-ahead for the country’s third foreign-controlled wealth management joint venture as the government builds on its pledge to open up the rapidly growing financial sector to overseas investment.

London-based asset management group Schroders PLC has won regulatory approval to set up a majority-owned wealth management venture with its long-time Chinese partner, Bank of Communications Co. Ltd. (BoCom), China’s sixth-largest commercial lender by assets. The two companies made the announcement in separate statements on Monday. The Shanghai-based company, Schroder BoCom Wealth Management Co. Ltd., will be 51% owned by Schroders, while BoCom Wealth Management Co. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of BoCom, will own 49%.