France's No. 1 retail bank, Credit Agricole SA, is due to launch a Chinese fund management venture by the end of October to tap the country's asset management boom, two sources close to the situation said on Monday.

The joint venture would be one-third owned by Credit Agricole, the sources told Reuters.

Aluminum Corp. of China (Chalco), the world's No. 3 alumina maker, would have a 15 percent stake and the Agricultural Bank of China would hold the remainder, they said.

The Chinese lender is one of the country's "Big Four" state-controlled commercial banks.

The fund venture, based in China's financial hub of Shanghai, is already planning to launch its first domestic mutual fund to raise as much as 10 billion yuan, the sources said.

The company will apply to the China Securities Regulatory Commission to launch the stock-focused fund as soon as it is officially set up, the sources said.