The regulator said its survey of 348 licensed hedge funds found that AUM had increased by 38% from the time of the last survey in September 2010 to US$87.1bn as of 30 September 2012 (the date at which the SFC requested data for).
In addition to a rising AUM, the SFC said the two year period saw a 25% surge in the number of hedge funds based in Hong Kong, increasing from 538 to 676.
Furthermore, the “Report of the Survey on Hedge Fund Activities of SFC-licensed Managers/Advisers” revealed that the majority of fund managers invested mainly in the Asia Pacific region using equity long/short strategies and multi-strategies. As of 30 September 2012, 65.4% of the total AUM was invested in the Asia Pacific markets. Hong Kong and mainland China accounted for 27.5%.
Interestingly, 94% of the investors in the funds were from outside of Hong Kong, with most either funds of hedge funds, insurance companies or other institutional investors.
