(Yicai Global) Nov. 3 -- Credit Suisse Group is exploring all possibilities to take full control of its securities joint venture in China as soon as possible, according to Janice Hu, the Swiss financial giant’s local chief executive.

Credit Suisse plans to wholly own Credit Suisse Securities China to further expand its business in the Chinese mainland, Hu told Yicai Global yesterday.

Credit Suisse became its majority shareholder with a 51 percent stake in the middle of last year and renamed it from Credit Suisse Founder Securities this June. The Zurich-based firm wants to raise that to 100 percent, its Asia-Pacific boss Helman Sitohang said last July.

Overseas financial giants including Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Chase have moved to take majority control and full ownership of their Chinese joint ventures since the country began easing foreign ownership limits in 2018 to further open up the financial sector.

Credit Suisse has hired more than 120 people since it became the JV’s majority shareholder, and the plan to accelerate its expansion in China has not changed, Hu said.

The asset pricing capabilities of intermediates will become increasingly important, she said. “In the future pricing will be more market-oriented, so analysts need to have a full understanding of the industry to attract investors. This is the only way Chinese listed companies can get more mature and market-oriented initial public offering prices.”

Credit Suisse focuses on five major industries: internet, technology, automobiles, healthcare, and financial technology, Hu noted, adding that businesses in these industries will be the mainstay of initial public offerings in China. As there are many unicorns in the country, the market has broad prospects, she said.

China ranks second in the world for most unicorn firms with a total of 165 as of early August, accounting for about 20 percent of the total, according to a report released by Credit Suisse. Their total market value reached USD566 billion, equal to 22 percent of the global total.

Despite the fluctuations in the Chinese stock market caused by the introduction of a series of new regulatory policies, the momentum for foreign capital inflows remains strong, Hu said.

“As of the end of September, the total market value of shares of Shanghai and Shenzhen-listed firms held by foreign investors soared to a record CNY3.53 trillion (USD551.7 billion), accounting for around 5 percent of the total,” she noted. Even when the market was volatile from July to September, the figure still hit CNY21.6 billion (USD2.4 billion), Hu added.

Editor: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione