Bank of Nova Scotia says final terms have been agreed with the Bank of Beijing to acquire a 33% stake, valued at approximately US$15 million, in a Chinese based fund management company to be established.

The joint venture is to be named Bank of Beijing Scotiabank Asset Management Co. Ltd. It will design and market a wide variety of mutual funds to retail and institutional customers through the Bank of Beijing’s growing national branch network.

The deal, which was announced today, is subject to regulatory approval in China.

“This is an exciting opportunity for Scotiabank to grow our operations in China by partnering with one of China’s leading banks,” says Rob Pitfield, executive vp, international banking. “By combining the Bank of Beijing’s broad presence and strong growth with Scotiabank’s more than 175 years of international financial experience, this joint venture is ideally positioned to meet the expanding needs of China’s growing asset management market.”

With more than 138 million investor accounts and more than $380 billion in assets under management, the Chinese asset management market has had a compound annual growth rate of over 230% over the past three years ending Dec. 31, 2007, according to figures provided by Scotiabank.

“Through this joint venture with the Bank of Beijing, Scotiabank will be reaching out to more than 8.2 million Bank of Beijing customers with co-branded mutual fund products, growing our brand recognition and sharing the Scotiabank experience,” said Michele Kwok, Scotiabank’s Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

“This joint venture with the Bank of Beijing is yet another way that Scotiabank is growing and investing to build a leading edge international wealth management platform,” adds Dan Wright, senior vp, international wealth management with Scotiabank.

The Bank of Beijing was established in 1996 from the consolidation of 90 urban credit cooperatives. With more than 131 offices in Beijing and branches in Tianjin, Shanghai and Xi’an, the Bank of Beijing is listed on the Shanghai stock exchange and is the 14th largest bank in China employing some 4,400 employees. The bank’s main businesses includes corporate banking, personal banking and foreign exchange and settlement.