T Rowe Price mulls Citic Securities stake

SHANGHAI - US fund house T Rowe Price is in advanced talks to buy a stake in China's biggest asset manager from Citic Securities Co, two sources with direct knowledge of the deal said on Monday.

A deal would give T Rowe access to China's fast-growing $400 billion mutual fund market and accelerate its Asia expansion, while bringing Citic Securities into compliance with domestic rules to avoid regulatory penalties.

T Rowe has been in talks with Citic Securities for months to buy a stake in China Asset Management Co and has completed due diligence on the target company, the sources said.