Wealth venture to secure 'better financial future'

BlackRock CCB Wealth Management Ltd, a three-party joint venture involving BlackRock, a global asset manager, China Construction Bank and Temasek Holdings of Singapore, received regulatory approval to commence business in China.

The approval is a sign of China's stepped-up efforts to further open up its financial sector to foreign investors, industry insiders said.

BlackRock announced on Wednesday that the joint venture will draw on its expertise in investment and risk management, as well as on China Construction Bank's client base and national distribution network.

The goal is to meet Chinese investors' demand for diversified asset management solutions and help support the development of the local wealth and asset management industry.

The joint venture is 50.1 percent owned by BlackRock, 40 percent by CCB Wealth Management Co Ltd－a wholly owned wealth management subsidiary of China Construction Bank－and 9.9 percent by Temasek.

"We look forward to partnering with China Construction Bank and Temasek to support China in building a sustainable ecosystem for investing. The Chinese market represents a significant opportunity to help meet the long-term goals of investors in China and internationally. We are committed to investing in China to offer domestic assets for domestic investors and look forward to creating a better financial future for more people," said Laurence D. Fink, BlackRock's chairman and chief executive officer.

Earlier this year, Schroders announced that Schroder Investment Management Ltd received permission from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission to establish a wealth management joint venture in Shanghai with BOCOM Wealth Management, a wholly owned wealth management subsidiary of Bank of Communications.

The proposed entity, Schroder BOCOM Wealth Management, will be 51 percent owned by Schroder Investment Management, while BOCOM Wealth Management will hold a 49 percent stake.

Last year, Amundi BOC Wealth Management Co, the first Sino-foreign wealth management joint venture in China, opened for business.

The Shanghai-based company is 55 percent owned by European asset manager Amundi and 45 percent owned by BOC Wealth Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of China.

The world's second-largest economy has accelerated the opening up of its financial sector by launching a suite of policies and measures.

The central government allowed foreign asset managers to partner with the subsidiaries of Chinese banks or insurers to set up foreign-controlled asset management companies.

Pan Dong, general manager of the asset management department of China Everbright Bank, said at an investment forum on May 8 that assets under management, or AUM, of China's asset management market reached 122 trillion yuan ($18.9 trillion) by the end of 2020, up nearly 10 percent from 2019.

It is expected that AUM will reach 210 trillion yuan by 2025, with an annual growth rate of about 12 percent, said Liu Bingbing, managing director and partner at Boston Consulting Group.