The Royal Bank of Scotland looks set to become the first UK bank to be able to underwrite domestic equity and bond offerings in China after earlier this week receiving the approval to set up a securities joint venture with Guolian Securities.
The approval, which was announced during a visit to China by a UK delegation led by prime minister David Cameron, will allow for the two parties to set up a joint business, but to start operations they will still need a business permit, which will typically take another six months. This suggests that RBS may be able to start offering investment banking services in the domestic Chinese market towards the end of the...