Shanghai-headquartered Bank of China Investment Management (BOC IM) has applied to the China Securities Regulation Commission (CSRC) to establish a subsidiary in Singapore, according to records from the regulatory’s records
BOC IM is the joint venture between Bank of China and US-based Blackrock, which owns 16.5% of the JV.
Bank of China also has an asset management business in Hong Kong. Its subsidiary, Bank of China Hong Kong, established BOCHK Asset Management in 2010, which now manages at least 40 mutual funds, according to data from FE Fundinfo.
FSA sought more information from Bank of China IM in Shanghai, but it was not able to provide more details about its plans in Singapore in time for publication.
Other Chinese firms have also established businesses in Singapore.
In October last year, CSOP Asset Management, one of China’s largest offshore asset managers, set up a Singapore office in a move to tap investors in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, in 2014, Hangzhou-based OCFM established hedge fund firm Overseas China Investment Management (OCIM) in the Lion City.
Hong Kong popularity
Separately, five mainland-based firms have applied with the CSRC to establish subsidiaries in Hong Kong. They include Penghua Fund Management and CCB Principal Asset Management, which is the joint venture of China Construction Bank, US-based Principal Financial and China Huadian Corporation, according to the regulator’s records.
A number of firms have already established offshore subsidiaries. According to a Securities Times report, there are around 20 mainland asset management firms that manage offshore subsidiaries, most of them registered in Hong Kong.
Those that have operations in Hong Kong include E Fund Management, China Southern Fund, Harvest Fund Management and China Asset Management.
Even Chinese wealth managers and family offices have made moves into Hong Kong.
In September 2019, Beijing-based Tang Wealth Internationalreceived relevant licences to operate in Hong Kong. The licences include asset management (Type 9), dealing in securities (Type 1) and advising on securities (Type 4).
Earlier last year, Shanghai-based wealth manager Hywin, a product selector and distributor with branch offices in China, also partnered with the Singapore arm of Liechtenstein-based VP Bank to set up a Hong Kong-based collaboration platform. Both firms will be targeting both offshore and onshore ultra-high net worth Chinese investors, FSA previously reported.
