China issues rules for securities ventures by foreign firms

China’s securities regulator issued guidelines on the country’s previously announced move to allow foreign firms to own a majority stake in local securities joint ventures.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission published the rules on its website this weekend. The watchdog had been seeking public comment on the plan since March.

China surprised the financial industry in November when it announced that it would raise the foreign ownership cap to 51 percent on the ventures, which provide underwriting and trading services. The move is a key part of President  Xi Jinping’s pledge to open China’s USD40 trillion financial sector.

Wall Street firms have been reluctant invest in the ventures without being allowed ownership, and a number have moved to exit their holdings in recent years.

China’s announcement of the changes in 2017 coincided with a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump to the country. Since then, the two countries have escalated their trade disputes, proposing tariffs on billions of dollars of goods.

Last week, the Trump administration said it would send Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and other top economic advisers to China in hopes of negotiating an end to the tensions, which have rattled financial markets and raised concerns that the world is barreling toward an all-out trade war.

Xi this month reiterated his pledge to open sectors of China’s economy, from banking to auto manufacturing, in a speech to the Boao Forum for Asia. Bloomberg