China on November 10, 2017, took a major step and said it will remove foreign ownership limits on banks while allowing overseas firms to take majority stakes in local securities ventures, fund managers and insurers. The new rules which were unveiled at a government briefing on November 10, will give global financial companies unprecedented access to the world’s second-largest economy. The announcement coincided with Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing.  Regulators are still drafting detailed rules, which will be released soon, China’s Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said at the briefing in Beijing. Some details of the new rules are:

 

Foreign firms will be allowed to own stakes of up to 51 percent in securities ventures; China will scrap foreign ownership limits for securities companies three years after the new rules are effective

The country will lift the foreign ownership cap to 51 percent for life insurance companies after three years and remove the limit after five years

Limits on ownership of fund management companies will be raised to 51 percent, then completely removed in three years

Banks and so-called asset-management companies will have their ownership limits scrapped