Beijing has given the green light to Societe Generale Asset Management's fund-management joint venture with Fortune Trust & Investment (Ftic), according to state media.
The tie-up, backed by China's largest steel-maker, is the second fund-management joint venture approved by the mainland securities regulator and the first involving a mainland trust company.
Last week, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) cleared the way for German giant Allianz and Shanghai's Guotai Junan Securities to start preparing for a joint-venture fund-management concern.
The approvals mark a step forward in fulfilling Beijing's commitment to open its financial markets to foreign players after joining the World Trade Organisation last December.
Approval is also expected soon for tie-ups between Haitong Securities and Belgium's Fortis Bank, as well as China Merchants Securities and ING Group of the Netherlands.
The joint ventures will give foreign financial firms access to China's 14.1 trillion yuan (about HK$13.21 trillion) domestic savings and its yuan-denominated A-share market. A shares, thus far reserved for domestic investors, account for the bulk of China's 4.4 trillion yuan total stock-market capitalisation.
