The two foreign firms are the first to receive approval to provide onshore investment advisory services in China.

The two foreign firms are the first to receive approval to provide onshore investment advisory services in China.
The original deadline in April has not given much time for distributors and fund managers to implement changes.
UBS, Morgan Stanley and Standard Chartered, as well as Merrill Lynch, were hit with a total $100m in fines for lapses in due diligence related to Hong Kong stock market listings.
The difficulty lies in the distribution side collecting information on complex products from asset managers.
The regulator now has teams assigned to supervise asset management sub-sectors, such as traditional, alternative or real estate, according to Lim Cheng Khai, executive director at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
China has proposed combining the two quota schemes, which could help foreign managers with private fund management licences seed their own funds.
Foreign corporations would only have to notify the Monetary Authority of Singapore, instead of seeking approval.
The Securities and Futures Commission said it is working on diversifying fund distribution channels, which have been dominated by banks.
Some distributors in Hong Kong may avoid ‘complex products’ because of the added risk of being non-compliant, according to Rolfe Hayden, a partner at law firm Simmons & Simmons.
A number of Hong Kong-domiciled funds do not meet requirements of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Part of the Mark Allen Group.