Amundi’s AUM in Asia increased 44% to €292bn ($345bn) in the 12-month period ending June, according to the firm’s financial results.
It was the highest AUM increase recorded during the period among all regions that the firm operates in. Comparing it to France, where the firm is headquartered, the increase was just a mere 1.8%, while Europe (excluding France and Italy) recorded only a 3.2% rise.
Amundi noted that its AUM figures include its joint venture firms globally. The bulk of the strong AUM increase in Asia came from its JV in India, the State Bank of India Funds Management (SBI FM), which had strong net inflows of €5.8bn in the second quarter and €6.1bn in the first quarter of this year, the report said.
However, Amundi’s other JVs in Asia did not perform strongly. For example, its JV in South Korea, NH-Amundi, had net outflows of €0.1bn in the second quarter, while ABC-CA Fund Management in China saw outflows of €2.7bn during the same period.
Amundi has a 37% stake in SBI FM in India, 30% in NH-Amundi in Korea and 33.3% in ABC-CA Fund Management in China.
Overall, Amundi’s global AUM increased 7.1% to €1.59trn during the 12-month period ending June.
China
The firm added that Amundi’s wealth management joint venture firm in China with BOC Wealth Management plans to launch its first products at the end of 2020. BOC WM is a subsidiary of Bank of China, which is the fourth-largest Chinese bank, with 500 million private customers and 11,000 branches, the report said.
It noted that it is still awaiting final regulatory approval from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), which the firm expects to receive by the end of Q3 or the beginning of Q4.
The JV will deploy Amundi’s investment management capabilities and services, while using BOC’s branding and distribution channels, according to a statement released last year.
Amundi added in the report that the JV agreement and commercial contract have been finalised, that its senior management team, including the CEO, chief investment officer and chief operating officer, has been put in place and that at least half of local hiring has been finalised. It has already prepared the JV’s infrastructure, including premises and IT platform.
The JV received regulatory approval in December to operate in the mainland. Amundi holds a 55% stake in the venture, while BOC WM owns 45%.
It is the first joint-venture company under the CBIRC regulated wealth management framework introduced last year, that has a foreign shareholder holding a majority stake.
In July, China’s Financial Stability Development Committee announced 11 measures to encourage overseas participation in the country’s financial markets. Included were foreign control of domestic wealth management companies (WMCs) and the removal of foreign ownership limits for fund management companies in 2020.
