US-based asset management firm Neuberger Berman has secured a licence from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to carry out mutual fund business in the country.
This move has helped Neuberger Berman Fund Management (China) become the second newly-established and fully-owned international fund management firm to undertake mutual fund operations in China.
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It follows an application submitted by Neuberger Berman to CSRC for the purpose in April 2020.
In September last year, Neuberger Berman received CSRC’s approval to establish the fund arm.
The latest approval also comes shortly after Canada’s Manulife Financial obtained green light from the Chinese regulator to take sole ownership of its mutual funds joint venture in China.
A number of firms, including American asset manager BlackRock, currently has a fully-owned mutual fund operations in China.
The company applied for a licence to establish the business in April 2020.
These clearances may help avert worries of foreign companies over China’s policy-making process after the streamlining of power by President Xi Jinping in the Communist Party Congress held last month, reported Reuters.
Neuberger Berman said in a statement: “We are honoured to now be able to broadly serve Chinese investors in local markets.”
The firm added: “Our long-term investment performance and ESG leadership were at the core of our mutual fund company application.”
In addition, multiple global asset management firms, such as Fidelity International, Schroders and VanEck, are gearing up to launch wholly-owned units in China’s mutual fund sector that is valued at around $3.7tn.
