US fund giant Vanguard is reportedly looking to shut down its China business and exit its joint venture with Ant Group. The move will mark a complete exit from the Chinese market for the $7.1-trillion firm, which had once seen great potential in the world’s second-largest economy.
The news comes as no surprise considering that foreign asset managers have been struggling to gain access to China’s tightly regulated financial industry for years now. Despite having established an onshore presence back in 2016 through a joint venture with Ant Financial Services Group, Vanguard has failed to make any significant progress since then due to restrictions imposed by Beijing on foreign companies operating within their borders.
Vanguard’s decision highlights how difficult it can be for overseas firms trying to break into China’s lucrative but highly regulated financial sector despite all of their efforts and resources put forward over recent years. It also shows that even large global players such as Vanguard are not immune from these challenges when attempting entry into new markets like this one, making them wary of investing too heavily in them before they fully understand what kind of obstacles they may face along the way first-hand experience-wise.
Read more at Business Today
