China Life Sets Up Shop In London As Shanghai And Britain Forge Tighter Trading Ties
China Life and China Investment Corp have selected London for their first offices outside China. There are no details yet on the new offices, but that nation’s largest life insurer and sovereign fund are not without options. In 2014, China Life paid $1.35B to acquire 70% of an office tower on 10 Upper Bank St from Canary Wharf Group, and last year bought 40% of 99 Bishopsgate, according to the South China Morning Post.
China’s largest five banks all have operations in London and the capital is now the second-largest offshore yuan trading centre, trailing Hong Kong. Chinese banks and insurance companies are keen to leverage the tightening British-Chinese ties as the London-Shanghai Stock Connect has been green-lighted by the British government as the world looks to expand global trading ties in a post-Brexit world. [SCMP]
