Northern Trust has scored another win in Asia after the China Banking Regulatory Commission approved its application for a branch licence in Beijing.

The company's presence in China dates back to 1999 when it secured a cooperative relationship with the Bank of Communications. It was not until 2005 that it was given approval to set up a representative office, through which it has developed its custody and asset servicing business in the country.

"Institutional investors in Asia and the Asia Pacific region have turned to Northern Trust as a financial partner with a commitment to the development of domestic financial institutions as sophisticated global investors... With its dynamic economy and emerging opportunities for overseas investment, China is a strategic focus for the company," Frederick Waddell, chairman and chief executive of Northern Trust, said in a statement.

The Beijing office will provide global custody, accounting, performance measurement and investment mandate compliance monitoring services to clients in China. The licence also allows the firm to provide client services directly from the Beijing office, rather than from Hong Kong or Singapore. The new office comes at a high time for Northern Trust, which recorded an 80 per cent rise in assets under custody in the Asia Pacific region in 2009.

The company has over 2,000 employees in Asia Pacific.