BlackRock Inc. got approval from regulators to start a mutual-fund business in China, a milestone for an investment firm with fierce ambitions in the world’s second-largest economy.
The New York asset manager was given the green light to set up a wholly owned mutual-fund business in Shanghai, the China Securities Regulatory Commission disclosed late this week. This paves the way for the world’s largest asset manager to be one of the first foreign investment firms to start managing money for Chinese individuals.
The move comes as senior U.S. and Chinese officials this week said they were committed to carrying out the phase-one trade accord between the two nations. The deal, signed in January, included terms that granted financial institutions more access to China.
“BlackRock has received regulatory approval to advance our establishment of a fund management company in China,” a spokeswoman said, “through which we will provide Chinese investors with differentiated solutions to help them achieve their long-term financial goals.”
BlackRock, which manages some $7.3 trillion, has had a presence in China for more than a decade. It was among the first foreign asset managers to set up wholly foreign-owned operations in Shanghai in 2017. The company began selling private funds to high-net-worth investors based in mainland China the following year. It manages three onshore private funds.
