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BOAO, China — China’s central bank governor pledged to expand foreign access to the country’s banking, securities and insurance sectors this year and open a trading link between the Shanghai and London stock exchanges.
Yi Gang, governor of the People’s Bank of China, said Wednesday at a forum that by the end of June, the government will remove foreign ownership caps on Chinese banks and allow foreign securities and life insurance firms to hold majority stakes in their Chinese counterparts. Yi said foreign ownership caps on Chinese securities and life insurers — which are currently being raised to 51% from 49% — will be totally abolished in three years.
By the end of this year, Yi said China will launch a trading link connecting the Shanghai stock market to London’s. Talks to do that, he said, are making “good progress.”
In addition, Yi introduced several new measures. He said that by the end of June, China will expand the permitted business scope for foreign insurance agents and will quadruple the daily quota allowed for foreign investors to buy mainland-traded stocks and for Chinese investors to purchase Hong Kong-traded stocks.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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