SHANGHAI - Japan's leading brokerage Nomura is scheduled to launch its newly-approved China joint venture within the year with the business focus on wealth management.

Toshiyasu Iiyama, executive chairman for Asia ex-Japan and head of China committee at Nomura Holdings, Wednesday said the brokerage is lucky to grasp a historic opportunity to enter China's wealth management market, currently a blue ocean market.

China's top securities regulator announced on March 29 that it had approved J.P. Morgan and Nomura to set up respective securities joint ventures in the country, in which each will hold a 51-percent stake.

Iiyama said the joint venture will be registered in Shanghai and is expected to start business within the year. In the initial period, the main business will be wealth management, he said.

China and Japan face similar issues like low fertility rates and aging population, and people in the two countries are no longer satisfied with bank deposits, he said.

People are seeking more investment opportunities and planning wealth management plans for life after retirement, said Iiyama.

Iiyama said while attending the Boao Forum in late March, he was very excited at China's pledge to further open up its financial industry. This is major good news for both Chinese companies and foreign investors, he said.