The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and its local Chinese partner launched their joint venture Huaying Securities on Monday, hoping to tap a piece of the booming investment banking business in the country. "From today, Huaying is licensed to underwrite and sponsor stocks and bonds issued in mainland China, tapping China's huge and growing investment banking market," they said in a statement ahead of a launch ceremony in the eastern city of Wuxi, not far from Shanghai.
Foreign players are rushing to get into the lucrative underwriting business in China, which became the world's top IPO market last year after companies raised a record $70 billion in proceeds. In January, the securities regulator approved the joint ventures of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co and Morgan Stanley, enabling the two to underwrite stocks and bonds in the country. UBS is planning to treble its research team to more than 100 people by mid-2012, hoping to set up its presence on the IPO market, a senior company official told Reuters in January.