BEIJING, Sept 30 (Reuters) - China's securities

regulator on Tuesday gave the green light for Japanese banking

group Mizuho to set up a wholly owned securities firm in

Beijing, as the country further opens up its financial sector to

foreign players.

The subsidiary will be 100% owned by the securities arm of

Mizuho Financial Group ( MFG ), with a registered capital of

2.3 billion yuan ($323.08 million), the China Securities

Regulatory Commission's (CSRC) statement showed.

The permission comes roughly two years after the CSRC

received the application.

Mizuho joins a growing list of global financial

institutions, including Goldman Sachs ( GS ) and BNP Paribas, that have

been allowed to wholly own securities branches in the world's

second-largest economy.

China scrapped the limits on foreign ownership in securities

firms in 2020, paving the way for foreign financial institutions

to more fully tap into the country's lucrative capital market,

including a $19 trillion stock market.

($1 = 7.1190 Chinese yuan renminbi)