FACTBOX-China to re-open brokerage sector to foreign investors

Dec 13 (Reuters) - The Chinese government plans to publish new rules to resume issuing licences for securities ventures to foreign investors soon after a two-year overhaul of its once-troubled brokerage sector.

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Following are significant moves and deals in Beijing's opening of its brokerage sector to foreign investors: * 1995 - Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) won special permission from the Chinese government to become a founding shareholder of Beijing-based China International Capital Corp in which the Wall Street bank owns a 34.3 percent stake, making it the first foreign bank to own an investment banking joint venture in China.

* Nov. 2001 - The Chinese government said a single foreign investor can own no more than 33.33 percent of a Sino-foreign securities venture, part of Beijing's commitment to the World Trade Organisation when it joined in 2001.

* July 2002 - China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) issued its first official rules about foreign investments in Chinese brokerage sectors including more details such as the necessary qualifications of potential foreign investors in domestic securities houses.

* 2003 - CLSA, the Asian investment banking arm of French bank Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), won approval to set up China Euro Securities Ltd, in which CLSA owns a 33 percent stake, making it the first foreign bank approved for an investment banking joint venture after China joined the WTO.

* 2004 - Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), helped by renowned Chinese investment banker Fang Fenglei, won a coveted licence to set up Goldman Sachs Gaohua Securities, based in Beijing, after paying less than $100 million to bail out Hainan Securities, a bankrupt Chinese securities firm.

* 2005 - UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (UBS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) agreed to invest $200 million in troubled Beijing Securities in return for a 20 percent stake and de facto management control of its day-to-day business and operations. Beijing Securities was renamed as UBS Securities, still based in Beijing, in 2007 when it was re-launched.

* 2005 - Beijing suspended issuing licences for Sino-foreign securities ventures after the UBS/Beijing Securities deal, mainly because it wanted to restructure its brokerage sector. It also began a national programme to convert all government-owned stock holdings in domestically listed firms into tradable shares.

* May 2007 - Senior Chinese government officials said during the second "Sino-U.S. Strategic Economic Dialogue" held in the United States that Beijing planned to resume issuing licences for securities ventures in the second half of 2007 after a two-year overhaul of its once-troubled brokerage sector. (Reporting by George Chen, editing by Ken Wills)