Foreign financial groups will be allowed to take majority stakes in securities, fund management, futures and life insurance companies “within a few months”, China’s central bank said on Wednesday. 

The announcement came a day after President Xi Jinping promised to “accelerate” the opening of China’s financial markets and to ease foreign investment restrictions in the automotive, shipbuilding and aviation sectors. 

China’s finance ministry first said in November that it would allow overseas companies to take majority stakes in securities, fund management and futures companies, but did not specify a timeline for implementation. At the time Zhu Guangyao, vice-finance minister, also said the foreign investment ceiling in life insurance joint ventures would be raised to 51 per cent, from the current 49 per cent, by the end of 2020.