SINGAPORE (Reuters) – China’s securities regulator said on Friday it has given UBS AG (UBSG.S) approval to increase its stake in its Chinese brokerage venture to 51 percent, making the Swiss bank the first foreign financial institution to gain control of a Chinese securities firm.

“This will be the first foreign-controlled brokerage approved by the securities regulator since the rules on foreign investment in brokerages were implemented,” the China Securities Regulatory Commission said on Chinese social media website Weibo.

The move is part of China’s wider efforts to deregulate its financial sector by gradually widening the approved scope of business for joint venture brokerages.

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