(Yicai) Jan. 29 -- BNP Paribas Asset Management Holding has replaced AXA Investment Managers, which was merged into it last month after being acquired by BNP Paribas Group, as the second-largest shareholder of French-Chinese bank-affiliated fund manager AXA SPDB Investment Managers.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission has approved BNP Paribas AM taking over AXA SPDB shares held by AXA IM to become the new second-largest shareholder of the joint venture between French insurer AXA and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, the JV announced late yesterday.

SPD Bank remains AXA SPDB's largest shareholder with a 51 percent stake, followed by BNP Paribas AM with 39 percent and Shanghai Guosheng Group Assets with 10 percent. Established in 2007, the JV and its subsidiaries had assets under management of more than CNY450 billion (USD64.7 billion) as of Dec. 31.

AXA SPDB will continue to strengthen synergy with its shareholders, leverage the respective resource advantages of both Chinese and foreign shareholders, and support the development of its business, it noted, without disclosing if it will be renamed following the latest change.

BNP Paribas completed the acquisition of AXA IM from AXA for about EUR5 billion (USD6 billion) in July last year and merged it into BNP Paribas AM on Dec. 31.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev