by CHEN Jing

China's securities regulator has approved Mizuho Securities (China) Co Ltd, making it the first Japanese-owned brokerage to gain full approval this year, in another sign of Beijing's steady opening of its capital markets.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said the wholly owned unit of Mizuho Securities Co Ltd, part of Mizuho Financial Group, will be based in Beijing with registered capital of 2.3 billion yuan (about US$324 million). It will operate in underwriting, proprietary trading and asset management limited to securitization, but will not engage in retail brokerage or wealth management.

Analysts said the approval underscores how foreign brokerages are focusing their China strategy on investment banking and asset management, where they hold clearer advantages. LIU Yicheng, a former investment banker, said local brokers' vast branch networks and low-fee models make retail operations hard to localize. He added that Mizuho will likely focus on serving Japanese clients in China and supporting Chinese firms' overseas fundraising—lessons learned after earlier wealth management pushes by Nomura Orient International and BEA Qianhai Securities led to staff cuts in 2024.

Foreign-owned securities firms have been expanding since China scrapped ownership caps in 2020. Current license holders include J.P. Morgan Securities (China), Goldman Sachs (China), UBS Securities, BNP Paribas Securities, and Standard Chartered Securities. Mizuho's approval brings the number of foreign-controlled brokerages to 12, including six wholly foreign-owned.

Under the CSRC notice, Mizuho must complete business registration within six months and apply for a securities and futures business license within 15 days after obtaining its certificate. The firm cannot conduct any operations before receiving that license.

Founded in 1917, Mizuho Securities is the investment-banking arm of Japan's Mizuho Financial Group, one of the country's largest financial conglomerates spanning banking, trust and securities. The application for the China unit was first filed in November 2023 and approved on Sept.30, 2025.

A person familiar with the industry said the approval was symbolic on two fronts, signaling China's commitment to gradual financial opening and filling a gap for a Japanese-funded brokerage operating independently on the mainland.

HAN Qian, an economics professor at Xiamen University, said foreign brokerages in China bring expertise and competition that are raising industry standards and improving their own cross-border business performance, though many still face localization and management hurdles.