{"text":[[{"start":10.65,"text":"Schroders plans to exit its fully owned China mutual funds business as the 200-year-old company seeks to streamline its presence in the mainland’s challenging asset-management sector."}],[{"start":22.3,"text":"The London-headquartered group, which is in the process of being taken private by Chicago-based Nuveen in a £10bn deal, has multiple operations in China including a wealth-management joint venture with the state-owned Bank of Communications."}],[{"start":36.7,"text":"Schroders is seeking to exit its wholly owned mutual fund business, according to two people familiar with the matter. "}],[{"start":42.6,"text":"It received approval for the business in 2023 as part of a regulatory easing in China that allowed foreign firms to fully own their own mutual fund operations. BlackRock won approval to run its own wholly owned business in 2021, and others including Neuberger Berman and Fidelity followed."}],[{"start":59.2,"text":"China’s asset management industry has proved challenging for foreign businesses amid intense domestic competition on fees and wider economic pressures."}],[{"start":67.95,"text":"“It has been a slog and a struggle for multiple years,” said Peter Alexander, managing director at Z-Ben Advisors, an asset management consultancy."}],[{"start":77,"text":"US fund management giant Vanguard in 2023 exited a joint venture with Ant Group, partly owned by Alibaba, as part of a retreat from the market."}],[{"start":87.35,"text":"International professional services from investment banking to law firms have struggled to gain traction in the mainland, despite an earlier easing that followed a trade deal late in President Donald Trump’s first term and raised hopes for rapid growth in the market."}],[{"start":102,"text":"The US president this week called on President Xi Jinping to “open up” China on a first-in-a-decade visit that saw him flanked by a host of top US business leaders, including Citigroup chief executive Jane Fraser."}],[{"start":116.55,"text":"Schroders’ presence in China has been a feature of UK official visits to mainland China, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit in January and chancellor Rachel Reeves’ trip a year earlier."}],[{"start":127.6,"text":"Richard Oldfield, Schroders’ chief executive, said on that trip that the company had been “committed to China for more than 30 years” and was “a leader in developing a compelling active investment proposition in the region”."}],[{"start":141.6,"text":"Schroders intends to exit its wholly owned China mutual fund business by transferring its licence, according to a person close to the situation, who added that its joint ventures would remain in place. "}],[{"start":152.6,"text":"The person said that it was part of a broader exit from sub-scale and non-core areas globally, but noted China was still a strategic priority."}],[{"start":161.6,"text":"Schroders declined to comment. "}],[{"start":172.85,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1778884706_4637.mp3"}