ICAP, central bank launch joint venture

Interdealer broker ICAP and a unit of China's central bank launched a money-broking joint venture, the Wall Street Journal reported. The joint venture, called CFETS-ICAP International Money Broking, is the second broker of its kind in China. It will address interbank market issues like poor liquidity, low credit and a shortage of hedging instruments. The partnership has been long anticipated and is seen as another sign of Beijing's willingness to turn to foreign expertise to develop its interbank market. ICAP holds 33% of the joint venture while China Foreign Exchange Trade System & National Interbank Funding Center, or CFETS, holds the rest. CFETS, which is run by the People's Bank of China, is a foreign exchange and money-market trading platform. The partnership has been given approval to provide voice-broking services in money, bond and derivative products in both the yuan and international markets, but is not approved to work with foreign exchange products. The first money-broking joint venture in China was Tullett Prebon SITICO.