A wealth arm of the Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank) has secured approval to establish an asset management joint venture with BNP Paribas holding a 49% stake.
Global Law Office’s leading partner Liu Jinrong, Xu Minghao, Kang Qiuning and Ren Qing advised AgBank’s subsidiary ABC Wealth Management.
The French company’s 51% stake indicates it will become the fifth international bank majority-owned Chinese wealth management joint venture, following Amundi Hong Kong, BlackRock, Schroders, and Goldman Sachs.
China relaxed financial regulations in 2019, allowing foreign-fund companies to build wealth management joint ventures as controlling shareholders with local banks.