(Yicai Global) April 12 -- After getting approval from Chinese regulators, China International Fund Management has changed its name to JPMorgan Asset Management China, becoming the first mutual fund manager under foreign ownership on the mainland to rebrand.

The name change officially took effect on April 10, the Shanghai-based mutual fund firm, wholly owned by US financial services provider JPMorgan Chase, said in an statement late yesterday.

To better integrate the China business into JPMorgan’s global operating system, JPMorgan Asset Management will also release details on the rebranding by the end of this month, Yicai Global learned.

JPMorgan Asset Management, a unit of New York-based JPMorgan Chase, gained approval from China’s securities regulator in January to acquire the 51 percent stake in CIFM held by Shanghai International Trust, making it the sixth wholly foreign owned mutual fund on the Chinese mainland.

Originally, Shanghai International Trust and JPMorgan Asset Management owned 51 and 49 percent respectively in CIFM, which was founded in 2004. As of the end of the first quarter of this year, the company managed 86 funds, with a total net asset value of CNY131.3 billion (USD19.1 billion), ranking 38th among more than 150 mutual fund firms in China.

Since China lifted restrictions on foreign ownership of securities and fund management firms in April 2020, international giants have applied to set up wholly owned public fund companies on the mainland, or converted existing JVs into fully owned firms by acquiring shares. The trend has accelerated since the start of 2023.

Following JPMorgan Chase, applications from global investment bank Morgan Stanley and investment manager AllianceBernstein were approved in February and March, bringing the number of foreign mutual fund firms on the mainland to eight.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Peter Thomas