Federal Reserve approves request by Chinese fund to acquire voting stock in Morgan Stanley

Fed approves sale of Morgan Stanley stock shares

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve has approved a request by a Chinese sovereign wealth fund to acquire up to 10 percent of the voting shares of New York investment bank Morgan Stanley.

The Fed, which regulates bank holding companies such as Morgan Stanley, approved the deal Tuesday on a 5-0 vote.

The Fed said it gave the go-ahead to the stock acquisition because the China Investment Corp. had stated that it did not plan to seek a controlling interest in Morgan Stanley.