StanChart Eyes Mainland Brokerage Business

Standard Chartered is reportedly applying for a brokerage license in China, joining its peers in the wave of foreign entry into the mainland market.

Mainland’s securities watchdog, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), has accepted an application from Standard Chartered Hong Kong on October 10 to set up a securities firm in the market, according to a report from state-owned media Xinhua.

According to Standard Chartered, the bank was looking to further develop onshore business through acquiring new licenses.

Since Beijing made good on a trade deal signed with the U.S. to scrap foreign ownership caps on securities and mutual fund firms, foreign financial institutions from the U.S., Europe, Japan and Singapore have been rapidly seeking to establish a presence to capitalize on new opportunities. Within brokerage, Japan’s SBI was the most recent to express greater interest in the mainland’s sub-sector due in part to growing political instability in Hong Kong.