Regulator also temporarily suspends granting approvals for new securities firms until industry clean-up is complete
China's securities regulator publicly acknowledged for the first time that the government has suspended granting approvals on foreign investment in the mainland's brokerage business.
The ban has been in effect since January and will remain in place until at least the end of the year, according to senior officials.
Swiss bank UBS won preliminary approval late last year for its 1.7 billion yuan purchase of a 20 per cent stake in Beijing Securities, though it is unlikely to be allowed to start operations before the end of the year, sources said.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission also said yesterday it has temporarily suspended approval for new branches of domestic brokerages or newly incorporated brokerages until an industry clean-up, which began early last year, is complete.
The government closed or merged 18 bankrupt securities firms last year as part of a drive to rebuild an industry decimated by losses that reached 15 billion yuan in 2004.