The joint venture investment bank, China International Capital Corporation, has changed its ownership structure after being awarded a licence to trade A-shares in November. The mainland partners, led by China Construction Bank, will now have a 51 per cent stake in the bank. Morgan Stanley, the US investment bank, has reduced its share from 35 per cent to 34.3 per cent.
This level of foreign ownership is still slightly higher than indicated in December by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, following China’s membership of the World Trade Organisation. It said that Sinoforeign joint venture securities firms should have an investment of at least US$60m and foreign firms must own between one quarter and one third of ventures.