[BEIJING] China will further relax rules for foreign banks and insurers of all sizes that plan to invest in the domestic industry, the latest round of easing amid efforts to conclude a trade deal with the US.
"Under the principle of treating foreign and domestic companies equally, we will remove caps on both foreign and domestic single shareholders' investment in a local commercial bank," said Guo Shuqing, Party Secretary of the Chinese central bank and head of CBIRC. "This time it's not just about opening the door wider to biggest global firms, but also to smaller and niche players. China is going to to see a full blossom of players and embrace more competition."
Following the previous rounds of easing, ING Groep NV became the first foreign firm with plans to take a 51 per cent stake in an onshore retail bank under China's new ownership regulations.