By Wang Lan (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-09-27 10:10

US investment bank JPMorgan Chase & Co yesterday said it has obtained the approval of China's securities regulator to establish a joint venture with a Chinese futures brokerage firm, the first joint venture to trade commodity futures and the proposed index futures.

The proposed firm will be owned by JPMorgan and Zhongshan Futures Co, a futures brokerage company with a registered capital of 30 million yuan, based in South China's Guangdong Province.

The shareholding ratio between the two parties is yet to be fixed. Other details of the transaction will not be available until the Chinese partner calls a shareholders' meeting, said Jiang Xuehong, general manger of Zhongshan Futures Co.

Jiang said the joint venture, which was given the go-ahead by the China Securities Regulatory Commission on Tuesday, will provide trading and clearing brokerage services in both commodity futures and upcoming financial futures.

"The partnership benefits both parties," Jiang said. "By learning from JPMorgan's rich experience in the global market, we can avoid the long and tedious learning curve in financial futures trading. On the other hand, this joint venture provides JPMorgan access to China's booming futures market."