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LONDON (Reuters) - China Merchants Securities (SS:600999), one of China's top five investment banks, has applied for membership of the London Metal Exchange (LME) as it seeks to expand its commodities business.
The LME, the world's biggest market for industrial metals, said in a statement on Friday the UK arm of the bank had applied for category 2 membership, which does not include open outcry trading in the floor of the exchange.
In June, the bank said that it had been approved by UK regulators to conduct listed derivatives brokerage activities as it aimed to build up a commodities business in the planned offshore yuan-clearing hub.
China's Premier Li Keqiang, on his first official trip to Britain since taking office, said in June that Chinese banks would further expand their businesses in Britain, naming China Construction Bank (SS:601939) as the first yuan clearing bank in London.
China Merchants Securities (UK) Limited said at the time that it planned to offer commodities risk management services to meet demand within China to hedge global natural resources price risks.
China Merchants Securities, listed in Shanghai, has over 100 branches in more than 60 cities in China with over 8,000 staff, serving more than 4 million clients, according to the bank. It is 45.8 percent owned by the state-owned China Merchants Group.
The LME is owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. (HK:0388).
(Reporting by Eric Onstad; editing by Susan Thomas)