JPMorgan is one of several international banks looking to participate in the country's booming but restrictive domestic securities business after Beijing agreed last month to resume licensing joint ventures.

'We are very interested in the Chinese securities sector,' Mr Joseph Regan, JPMorgan's Asia-Pacific vice-chairman, told reporters. 'We've been approached by a few firms.'

Mr Regan, speaking on the sidelines of a China-US financial forum, declined to name the suitors. Although some of its rivals had a head start, JPMorgan would be patient in its selection, he said.

'It sounds mundane, but the right partner is someone who aligns with our objectives for the long term. We're taking a 20-year outlook on this, not the next 12 months in league tables,' Mr Regan said.

China's domestic initial public offering market nearly tripled last year to US$60.7 billion (S$86.8 billion), according to Thomson Financial, and foreign-invested brokerages have been among the top dealmakers.

China International Capital Corp, a joint venture backed by Morgan Stanley, was the biggest underwriter of Chinese domestic A shares last year, Thomson data show.

Joint ventures involving UBS and Goldman Sachs ranked third and seventh, respectively.

Credit Suisse said on Thursday it plans to form a joint venture with the Founder Group, which is backed by Peking University. HSBC and Citigroup are also in talks with potential partners, industry sources have said.

New rules that went into effect at the start of the year modestly expand the business scope of securities joint ventures but limit foreign firms to one-third ownership.

'I think we'd like to take advantage of the limits, but it depends on the partner and how that all works,' Mr Regan said. -- REUTERS