The China Securities Regulatory Commission has approved a fund management joint venture between Shenzhen-based Great Wall Securities and Invesco, a unit of Anglo-American Amvescap. The new unit is called Invesco Great Wall Fund Management.
Invesco is based in Atlanta and this marks the first Sino-foreign funds JV with an American partner that's been approved by regulators. Others may soon follow: JPMorgan Chase has announced a JV with Shanghai International Trust & Investment, while other players such as Barclays Global Investors are known to be looking for a deal. Nonetheless, to date the approved JV scene has been a European - indeed a Dutch - affair, led by ABN Amro Asset Management and ING Investment Management.
As initially revealed to FinanceAsia when the talks were first disclosed, the JV's structure allows for parity between Great Wall and Invesco, with each taking a 33% stake and two non-financial services companies, Kailuan Group and Dalian Shide Group, splitting the remainder for 17% apiece.
Andrew Lo, Invesco's regional CEO, has told FinanceAsia that when regulations permit, Great Wall and Invesco will each raise their stakes to 49%, leaving Kailuan and Dalian Shide with 1% each.
Xu Ying, vice president and director at Great Wall Securities, will become the chairwoman of Invesco Great Wall Fund Management. The JV's general manager is Hwa Dongliang, who was Invesco's CEO for Taiwan.
Great Wall Securities' dominant shareholder is China Huaneng Group, the power company whose chairman is Li Xiaopeng, eldest son of former chairman of the National People's Congress, Li Peng. The securities company was founded in 1995 and has Rmb825 million ($100 million) in registered capital.
