BlackRock Gets Green Light to Start Offering Mutual Funds in China

BlackRock Gets Green Light to Start Offering Mutual Funds in China

BlackRock Inc. won approval from Chinese regulators to begin operations at its wholly owned mutual-fund business in the country, paving the way for the New York-based asset manager to start selling funds to individual investors in China before the end of this year.

The go-ahead is the latest in a series of steps taken by China to allow U.S. banks and investment firms, such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., greater access to its markets following last year's trade accord between Washington and Beijing.

BlackRock, the world's largest money manager with $9 trillion in assets under management as of end-March, has made expansion in China a priority. It secured a nod from the China Securities Regulatory Commission last August to establish the mutual-fund business, which is now permitted to begin selling funds.