JPMorgan gets China corporate bond underwriting licence

"The markets were volatile this year. There were times when IPOs got launched but didn't get done, and there were also fewer rights offerings," said Achintya Mangla, head of ECM in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at JP Morgan <JPM.N>, which topped the league table for global equity offerings and IPOs

HONG KONG: JPMorgan Chase & Co said on Monday it had received approval and licence to underwrite corporate bonds in China's interbank bond market, making it the first US-headquartered bank to do so.

The licence enables JPMorgan to underwrite debt financing instruments issued by non-financial entities, including commercial papers, medium-term notes and other instruments approved by regulators, it said.

The licence was granted by the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors (NAFMII), which oversees the Chinese interbank bond market, said a statement issued by JPMorgan.

China is the third largest bond market in the world with 43.7 trillion yuan (US$6.37 trillion) outstanding at the end of 2016 with the interbank bond market accounting for over 90%, according to China Central Depository & Clearing Co.

In September last year, JPMorgan was granted a business licence to operate a fully owned fund management business in China, allowing it to set up an office in Shanghai free-trade zone. - Reuters