China approves Japan's Mizuho to set up securities firm in Beijing

Mizuho joins a growing list of global financial institutions allowed to wholly own securities branches in China

China’s securities regulator on Tuesday (Sep 30) gave the green light for Japanese banking group Mizuho to set up a wholly owned securities firm in Beijing, as the country further opens up its financial sector to foreign players.

The subsidiary will be 100 per cent owned by the securities arm of Mizuho Financial Group, with a registered capital of 2.3 billion yuan (S$416.2 million), the China Securities Regulatory Commission’s (CSRC) statement showed.

The permission comes roughly two years after the CSRC received the application.

Mizuho joins a growing list of global financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas, that have been allowed to wholly own securities branches in the world’s second-largest economy.

China scrapped the limits on foreign ownership in securities firms in 2020, paving the way for foreign financial institutions to more fully tap into the country’s lucrative capital market, including a US$19 trillion stock market. REUTERS