China’s securities watchdog officially has unveiled the time frame for abolishing foreign ownership restrictions on futures, securities and fund management companies, the latest sign that Beijing is accelerating efforts to open up its finance sector amid its gruelling trade war with the US.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said on Friday that limits on foreign investors in mainland-based futures firms would be scrapped on January 1 next year.
Limits on mutual fund companies will be removed on April 1, while the caps on securities firms will be removed on December 1, 2020.
The deregulation paves the way for foreign institutions to set up wholly-owned units on the mainland to deal with futures, mutual fund management and securities businesses when the new rules take effect.
In April, 2018, Beijing announced it would lift the investment cap to allow foreign brokerages to have a majority stake in their mainland joint ventures with Chinese partners.
Before the policy relaxation, holdings by foreign investors were capped at a maximum 49 per cent.