A pair of banks say their fund management JV, which is a foreign-majority-owned enterprise, is the first to take advantage of new regulations.

Hang Seng Bank and Shenzhen Qianhai Financial Holdings have officially opened what they say is the first foreign-majority-owned joint venture fund management company in mainland China to be set up under a new regulatory arrangement.

The JV is called Hang Seng Qianhai Fund Management Company. It has been set up under a provision of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, or CEPA.

The primary business scope of the joint venture includes fundraising, fund sales and asset management, providing products and asset management services for individual and institutional investors.

The development comes amid continued moves by mainland China to open itself to international investment and business, such as the Mutual Recognition of Funds regime between the mainland and Hong Kong, permitting funds to be bought and sold across the border.