Julius Baer poised to launch China fund
Julius Baer has become the first private bank to be granted a QF11 licence by Chinese regulatory authorities, paving the way for it to launch a fund that invests in China.
The Swiss bank was awarded a QF11 licence by the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CRSC) in December 2010 enabling it to offer its clients access to onshore equity and bond markets.
It has now been granted a quota of $100m by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange in China (SAFE) and is preparing to launch the China Fund to give clients access to domestic growth in the country.
The fund will invest in A and H shares and be managed by Julius Baer and advised by one or more specialist advisers.
Kenneth Ho, head of products in Asia Pacific, said the region offered many positive growth prospects for investors.
“Until now clients have had very limited direct access to this trend, since few China stocks have overseas listings. We can now offer clients a full range of products either directly from Julius Baer or from numerous external parties. This opens up increased opportunities for diversification and potentially attractive long-term returns.”
The expected fund launch falls into Julius Baer’s growth strategy to make Asia its second home. The bank’s Hong Kong operation was promoted into a full bank branch late last year and it is set to open its Shanghai representative office and Singapore Trust company within the year.