J.P. Morgan Asset Management said it garnered China Securities Regulatory Commission approval to acquire 100% interest in its Shanghai-based joint venture, China International Fund Management.
CSRC announced its approval Thursday for the U.S. asset manager to make CIFM a wholly owned affiliate.
JPMAM has held a 49% stake in the joint venture, which it established with Shanghai International Trust Co. in 2004. The joint venture had $23.9 billion assets under management as of Sept. 30.
A JPMAM spokeswoman declined to comment on the purchase price.
After the acquisition is completed, CIFM will operate under the JPMAM China brand, the U.S. firm said in a statement on Friday.
All CIFM employees will relocate to J.P. Morgan's Shanghai Tower office. Eddy Wong, the CEO of China International Fund Management, will become CEO of JPMAM China, reporting to Dan Watkins, Asia-Pacific CEO of JPMAM.
The firm has been looking to buy out Shanghai Trust after Chinese regulators opened the door in 2020 for foreign firms to establish wholly owned fund management firms on the mainland, either by acquiring outstanding stakes in their local joint ventures or by setting up their own fund management firms without the previous requirement that they have local partners.
The green light from the China Securities Regulatory Commission is the latest in a string of approvals for foreign asset managers in China.
Standard Chartered was also approved on Thursday to establish a securities unit and Schroders got approval last week to set up a mutual fund unit in the country.
Two months earlier, Manulife Investment Management became the first foreign fund manager to gain full ownership over its Chinese join venture. Also in November, Neuberger Berman won final approve to launch fund management operations on the mainland.
