HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Korea’s KB Asset Management Co. said Monday it has obtained approval from Chinese authorities to invest up to $100 million in local securities, gaining greater access to one of the world’s most rapidly growing stock markets.

The approval, granted by China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) last week, will allow KB Asset Management to launch a collective investment fund in China next month, the company said.

The move comes after KB Asset Management, an affiliate of Korea’s second-largest financial services company KB Financial Group Inc., was granted a license under China’s Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) program in September.

A foreign financial institution first needs to get a QFII license from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, then apply for separate approval from the SAFE on how much it can invest.

KB Asset Management has been making China-related investments through its own Chinese index funds in Hong Kong, which track the components of China’s stock exchanges ― the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. The company has 1.2 trillion won ($1.07 billion) under its funds.

KB Financial Group said last month that it is in talks with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. on cooperation in investment banking in an effort to strengthen its business portfolio in China.