(Yicai Global) Nov. 2 -- JP Morgan Chase & Co. has increased its holdings in its Chinese securities joint venture to 71 percent, giving the US investment bank the largest ownership stake by a foreign institution in a brokerage JV on the mainland.

The New York-based company paid CNY178 million (USD 26.6 million) for a 20 percent share of equity in JP Morgan Securities China that was put up for sale in September by the Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone Group, according to the Shanghai United Asset and Equity Exchange. The transaction was completed on Oct. 23.

As China continues to lift curbs on foreign ownership in its financial sector, JP Morgan Securities hopes to become a wholly foreign-owned firm, Chairman and Chief Executive Pu Xueqian told the Securities Times yesterday. Holding 100 percent shares will make it easier for JP Morgan to invest global resources and provide better services to its Chinese customers, Pu added.

JP Morgan was granted the final approval by the China Securities Regulatory Commission in December last year to set up a majority-owned brokerage JV. It invested CNY408 million (USD61 million) for a 51 percent stake, becoming one of the first foreign firms to hold more than half of the equity in a securities firm on the mainland.

Remaining investors include Zhuhai Myland Fund Management with 14.2 percent equity as well as Beijing Langxin Investment, Xinjiang Zhongwei Equity Investment and Shanghai Binhe Investment Management Center each with a 4.9 percent stake.

JP Morgan Securities is based in Shanghai’s Lujiazui Financial District and has a team of around 1,000 employees.

Editor: Kim Taylor