By George Chen

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's securities regulator has approved the launch of a fund management joint venture that will be one-third owned by French bank Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), the venture said on Thursday.

The approval was China's first for a new fund house since an informal suspension last September, when the authorities sought to cool the country's overheated stock markets. The markets have fallen sharply since mid-January, however.

Aluminium Corp of China Ltd (Chalco) (2600.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) (601600.SS: Quote, Profile, Research), China's top alumina maker, will hold a 15 percent stake and the Agricultural Bank of China ABC.UL (Agbank) will own the remainder of the venture, ABC-CA Fund Management Co, it said in an e-mailed statement, confirming what a source briefed on the situation told Reuters earlier on Thursday.

"The establishment of ABC-CA Fund is a significant step for Agbank toward its strategy of becoming a financial conglomerate," said Yang Kun, chairman of ABC-CA Fund and a vice president of Agbank, in the statement.

Agbank, one of China's "Big Four" state-controlled commercial banks, is also awaiting a government bail-out ahead of a planned public listing, as part of Beijing's programme to bolster the banking sector.

ABC-CA Fund, which will be based in China's financial hub in Shanghai, has been awaiting regulatory approval for more than half a year, missing its original launch target of October, sources familiar with the situation said.

It still must finalise certain legal registrations, which may take a few weeks, the sources said.

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