CCB Principal Asset Management in Hong Kong (CCBPAM HK) has been awarded licences for asset management (Type 9) and advising on securities (Type 4) by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) last month, according to the regulator’s records.
CCBPAM is Principal’s joint venture firm in China. China Construction Bank owns 65% of the joint venture, while Principal owns 25%. The remainder is owned by investment firm China Huadian Capital Holdings.
Principal already has a presence in Hong Kong, including Principal Global Investors (Hong Kong) (PGI), which is the global asset management arm of Principal, and Principal Asset Management (Asia) (Principal AM), which manages MPF schemes and Hong Kong-domiciled funds, according to a document from the firm.
Both PGI and Principal AM collectively manage 18 SFC-authorised mutual funds in Hong Kong, according to data from FE Fundinfo.
CCBPAM in China, meanwhile, offers two China-domiciled funds in the SAR via the Hong Kong-China Mutual Recognition of Fund (MRF) scheme, SFC records show. They are the CCB Principal Dual Income Bond Fund and the CCB Principal Selected Growth Mixed Asset Fund.
Excluding money market funds, CCBPAM manages around RMB 134bn ($19.21bn) in the mainland, according to data from FE Fundinfo.
FSA sought more information from CCBPAM, but it was not able to elaborate on CCBPAM HK’s business in the territory.
CCBPAM HK’s responsible officers include Chen Chih-Kuo, Anthony Ho, Li Bohan and Xu Jing, according to SFC records. Chen was previously a responsible officer at PICC Asset Management, while Ho was most recently from CM Asset Management, the records show. Before CM AM, he was at Amundi from 2015-2017, where he was chief investment officer for Asia (ex-Japan) equities and deputy CEO for Hong Kong.
Bohan and Jing, meanwhile, were not previously licenced as representatives or responsible officers for other firms in Hong Kong.
UBS SDIC AM
Separately, UBS SDIC Asset Management (Hong Kong)’s licences for asset management, advising on securities and dealing in securities (Type 2) were removed last month, according to SFC records.
The firm received its Type 4 and 9 licences in 2011, while its Type 2 licence was given to the firm in 2014, the records show.
UBS SDIC AM in Hong Kong is a wholly-owned subsidiary of UBS SDIC Fund Management in China. UBS SDIC Fund Management is the joint venture firm between SDIC Taikang Trust, which holds 51% of the JV, and UBS, which holds the remaining 49%, according to the firm’s website.
FSA sought more information from UBS SDIC Fund Management, but it did not comment about the removed licences.
UBS SDIC Fund Management offers its China-domiciled Stable Income Bond Securities Investment Fund in the SAR via the MRF scheme, according to the firm’s website.
Excluding money market funds, UBS SDIC Fund Management manages around RMB 50bn in the mainland, according to data from Morningstar Direct.
