Morgan Stanley to gain China banking license-report http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2006-10-02T002843Z_01_SP24843_RTRIDST_0_FINANCIAL-CHINA-MORGANSTANLEY.XML&rpc=66&type=qcna
Sun Oct 1, 2006
SINGAPORE, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is expected to announce on Monday it has obtained a coveted Chinese commercial banking licence, in a surprise move that trumps its U.S. investment bank peers, the Financial Times reported.
The license paves the way for the investment bank to offer renminbi-denominated products to corporations operating on the mainland.
Overseas banks typically need to have operated at least five years on the mainland and obtained a commercial banking license before they can conduct business in the local currency.
But Morgan Stanley will be able to apply for a renminbi-business license immediately, after inheriting a commercial banking license as part of its acquisition of Nan Tung Bank, one of the few Chinese banks open to foreign ownership, the paper said.
Morgan Stanley believes the license would catapult it ahead of its investment banking rivals, such as Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Merrill Lynch (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Lehman Brothers (LEH.N: Quote, Profile, Research).
The bank will, however, still have to apply for each individual product it wishes to sell to be approved by the authorities, in what could be a lengthy process.
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