Credit Suisse is poised to take majority control of its Chinese investment-banking joint venture, the second major international lender to do so as the country opens up its financial sector to overseas competition.
The Swiss bank has reached an agreement with partner Founder Securities to increase its stake in their joint venture to 51 per cent from 33.3 per cent, a previous limit for non-Chinese companies, by way of a capital injection of about SFr94m ($94m), according to statements from both parties on Monday. The deal still has to be approved by regulators, expected in August.
Credit Suisse follows local rival UBS, which won approval from regulators to take a controlling stake in its own joint venture in December. The presence of another international bank onshore in China shows the eventual success of a decades-long lobbying campaign in Beijing, which argued the country’s nascent capital markets would benefit from foreign investment and expertise.