JP Morgan Chase & Co. said Friday it was granted permission to take full control of a securities business in China, a first for an international firm and a continuation of financial-market liberalization by Beijing at a time of waning confidence in its markets.
After years of slow-walking promises to allow access to its financial markets by Wall Street giants, China has loosened rules to give firms more opportunity to trade securities in the country and build investor bases. More than three decades since China opened stock markets, foreign firms remain minnows compared with China’s own brokerages and banks.
The fresh market access also follows a slump in foreign investor sentiment about China’s financial markets, following regulatory pressure from Beijing on various sectors including technology and education.
The first phase of a Sino-U.S. trade deal reached in January 2020 committed Beijing to enhance market access in banking services, including by taking into account the assets of their parent companies.