(Yicai Global) March 28 -- British banking giant Standard Chartered's private equity company on the Chinese mainland has received permission to start operating, and is licensed to manage up to CNY500 million (USD73 million) in assets.

SC Ventures Investment Management (Shenzhen), which is owned by Standard Chartered’s Hong Kong branch, has been registered at the Asset Management Association of China, according to the association's website. The fund was set up in July last year with registered capital of USD2 million.

It is the second foreign-backed private equity company to be registered at the association this year. Since China allowed foreign investors to set up wholly-owned private equity firms in 2016, there are now more than 30 such companies on the mainland.

Standard Chartered China entered into a strategic partnership with the Shenzhen Angel Fund of Funds under the Shenzhen Municipal Government in July last year to build an incubation ecosystem for small and medium-sized science and technology ventures in the Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Bay Area.

The London-based lender has made good progress on a USD300 million investment plan in China-related businesses that it announced in 2022, Chief Executive Officer Bill Winters told Yicai Global recently.

Standard Chartered is more upbeat than most institutions on China’s gross domestic product growth this year and predicts a gain of 5.8 percent as the economy bounces back faster than expected, Winters said.

Singapore-based SC Ventures was established in 2018 with an investment focus on online economy and lifestyle, world trade, small and medium-sized enterprises and digital assets, according to the company website.

Editor: Kim Taylor