ICBC, CMB, and Ping An Bank join mutual fund advisory business pilot program
The pilot program serves to shift the sales model for fund advisory services in China toward a fee-based system that places greater emphasis on the client’s best interests. This will bring China more into line with …
JPMorgan starts adding Chinese government bonds to indexes
Foreign investors have been eager to get more exposure to China’s bond market, which became the world’s second largest in June 2019, and Chinese authorities have been …
CBIRC announces end of Anbang takeover
Anbang was a large and potentially dangerous liability for the CBIRC, and its unwinding was a major test for Chinese regulators. Its successful completion will …
PBoC assesses blockchain technology
China’s burgeoning blockchain technology will be deployed primarily as a tool to make certain parts of the economy more efficient and more transparent to regulators, rather than …
CBIRC approves CGB futures trading by commercial banks and insurance companies
China reopened its government bond futures market in 2013 after an 18-year suspension imposed in the wake of a scandal that brought down one of the country’s biggest brokerages. Wary of further scandals, and in an effort to control risks …
Financial regulators release guidelines for financial opening and integration in the Yangtze River Delta region
Regulators want Shanghai to be a primary destination for foreign financial investment. They hope to achieve this by accelerating financial opening policies and …
Oaktree Capital and Russell Investments take advantage of market opening
The phase one trade deal between the US and China signed in January has put pressure on Beijing to speed up approvals of applications by …
China starts to implement commitments of phase one US-China trade deal amid epidemic
Following the signing of the phase one trade deal, there were already significant questions about whether China would be able to meet its obligations to purchase US goods …
MasterCard wins approval for bankcard clearing business
The entry of foreign payments service providers into the Chinese market is a long-awaited development and was a key demand of American negotiators in the run-up to …
Prudential in talks to gain full control of China JV
In January, China abolished foreign ownership caps for life insurance companies. This development has prompted several foreign insurers to seek …
CBIRC adjusts actuarial rules for personal insurance products
This rate adjustment is aimed at reducing the cost of buying insurance and generating greater demand for high-quality products, especially retirement insurance – as the looming crisis in …
Huishang Bank to participate in launch of “new” Baoshang Bank
As we noted in last month’s monitor, this process of setting up a new entity to take over part of the troubled lender’s problematic assets is similar to the process that regulators undertook when …
PBoC issues distributed ledger security standards for the financial industry
The new standards are the first of their kind to be rolled out by the PBoC, governing the development of distributed ledgers used for financial purposes. Their issuance shows that the PBoC is …
Widening staff cuts take place at commercial banks
These staff reductions come amidst efforts by Chinese banks to create so called “smart banks” – automated outlets that make use of 5G technology – and as online direct banks (e.g. Tencent’s We-Bank and Baidu’s aiBank) increasingly challenge the …
Local government response to the coronavirus epidemic
As is often the case with policymaking in China, getting local officials to comply with central government dictates is easier said than done. Beijing will need to …
Financial regulators take measures to contain coronavirus impact
The more than doubling of the PBoC’s re-lending program for SMEs should be enough to help the bulk of these companies make it through this period of cashflow shortfall driven by the virus outbreak – and keep them from …
January wrap-up: High-level government response to Coronavirus
Despite the extreme challenges that businesses are facing as a result of the coronavirus outbreak and the government’s heavy-handed efforts to slow the spread of the virus, at present it does not appear that …
Regulators push for development of commercial insurance in social services
The opinions place a strong emphasis on healthcare and retirement-related services, reflecting the importance that the Party attaches to these sectors. China’s rapidly aging population and …
Huawei CFO begins extradition proceedings
The course of the Meng Wanzhou case will play a decisive factor in determining the trajectory of China-Canada relations in the near- to mid-term future. The Trudeau government has resisted calls by …
CBIRC issues measures on the formulation of new normative documents
The central government has long been pushing for the establishment of a review mechanism to ensure fair competition in the financial industry – and the CBIRC has now …