JPMorgan gets China corporate bond underwriting license

[February 06, 2017]    HONG KONG (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co said on Monday it had received approval and license to underwrite corporate bonds in China's interbank bond market, making it the first U.S.-headquartered bank to do so.

 A view of the exterior of the JPMorgan Chase & Co. corporate headquarters in New York City, U.S. on May 20, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

The license 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 license 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 ($6.37 trillion) outstanding at the end of 2016 with the interbank bond market accounting for over 90 percent, according to China Central Depository & Clearing Co.

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

(Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Vyas Mohan)

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