From the press release desk this week…
People moves
M&G Real Estate has named Tony Brown as head, following the appointment of Alex Jeffrey to lead M&G Investments in Asia-Pacific in April. In addition, Simon Pilcher, CEO of M&G’s institutional fixed income business, will become executive chairman of M&G Real Estate, providing strategic direction to M&G Real Estate in addition to his other duties. Brown, who was previously the firm’s chief investment officer, will split his current responsibilities between two newly created roles: Martin Towns is promoted to head of UK commercial and capital solutions, while a head of investment strategy role will also be created…
Fund launches
Blackrock has launched the BGF Dynamic High Income Fund, which seeks to broaden income sources for Singapore investors. The fund seeks to deliver consistent, high income and attractive total return through asset classes complementary to traditional income investments. These asset classes include global REITs, preferred stocks, floating rate loans, mortgage-backed securities and equity covered call options. The strategy was first launched in the US in November 2014…
China Asset Management (Hong Kong) has launched the ChinaAMC MSCI China A Inclusion Index ETF, the world’s first A-shares ETF that tracks the MSCI China A Inclusion Index, which was launched in October last year. The ETF was listed on 7 February, with a Hong Kong dollar and renminbi dual counter arrangement…
Taiwan’s Yuanta Securities Investment Trust Company and Fubon Asset Management have launched the country’s first China fixed income ETFs. The Yuanta China Treasury + Policy Bank 3-5 Year Bond ETF tracks the Bloomberg Barclays China Treasury + Policy Bank 3-5 Years Total Return Index, while the Fubon China Policy Bank Bond ETF tracks the Bloomberg Barclays China Policy Bank Total Return Index…
Business moves
Deutsche Asset Management has been awarded a A$385m ($299.7m) mandate to invest in global real estate securities by Colonial First State, an Australian issuer of investment, superannuation and retirement products. The mandate will be managed by the firm’s global real estate securities team, which comprises of 19 investment professionals led by Chicago-based John Vojticek, head of liquid real assets…
Hong Kong-based Mandarin Capital and global boutique firm Panda New Capital have formed a strategic partnership to focus on cross-border advisory and to jointly launch a healthcare fund this year in Hong Kong. The fund will invest in fast-growing global medical companies. Mandarin Capital has a representative office in London and works with sophisticated corporate and private clients across Europe, Asia and the US. It specialises in early-stage technologies, secondary private equity and real estate advisory…
Money flows
Global institutional pension fund assets in 22 major markets grew 13% to a record $41.3trn in 2017, according to Willis Towers Watson report. The total value of assets grew by $4.8trn, which is the largest single-year growth in US dollar terms in the last 20 years. Among the 22 markets covered in the study, Hong Kong’s pension assets registered the highest estimated single-year growth rate of 21% in local currency terms in 2017…
Asian investors, predominantly from Hong Kong and Singapore, ploughed around £1bn ($1.40bn) into the London new-build property market, according to an Old Mutual International report. Hong Kong accounted for 31.5% of total overseas sales, followed by Singapore (20.8%), China (5.4%) and Malaysia (3.7%). However, around 30% of overseas investors are not aware that they are exposed to a UK inheritance tax liability…
Regulation
The Securities and Futures Commission has taken regulatory action against a number of cryptocurrency exchanges and issuers of initial coin offerings. It has sent letters to seven cryptocurrency exchanges in Hong Kong or with connections to Hong Kong warning them that they should not trade cryptorcurrencies, which are “securities” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) without a licence. It has also written to seven ICO issuers, with most of them confirming compliance with the SFC’s regulatory regime or immediately ceased to offer tokens to Hong Kong investors…
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has reminded distributors to comply with the expected standards governing the selling of investment products, especially complex and high-risk bonds and structured products. For example, distributors should ensure that sufficient disclosure is made to customers during the selling process, particularly when the product involves special features or complex structure…
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has issued revised guidelines on authorisation of virtual banks for public consultation. The guideline sets out the principles which the regulator will take into account in deciding whether to authorise virtual banks to conduct banking business in Hong Kong. As defined in the revised guideline, a virtual bank refers to a bank which delivers retail banking services primarily, if not entirely, through the internet or other forms of electronic channels instead of physical branches. The public consultation will last until 15 March and companies intending to apply for a virtual banking licence may submit an application to the HKMA now…
The Monetary Authority of Singapore has issued new guidance to financial institutions on the use of innovative technology solutions to facilitate safe, non-face-to-face customer on-boarding. The MAS already allows firms to carry out non-face-to-face verification of customer identity, provided adequate measures are in place to guard against impersonation. MAS has provided additional guidance that these measures could include biometric identification, real-time video conferencing and secure digital signature using public key infrastructure-based credentials…
Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal will be hearing Moody’s Investors Service Hong Kong’s case about the SFC’s disciplinary action in relation to a special comment report Moody’s published in 2011. At the time, the SFC reprimanded and fined Moody’s (HK$11m, $1.4m) for breaching the Code of Conduct in its preparation and publication of the report entitled “Red Flags for Emerging-Market Companies: A Focus in China”. Last year, Hong Kong’s Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by Moody’s against the Securities and Futures Appeals Tribunal’s (SFAT) decision to uphold the SFC disciplinary action. The date for the hearing with the Final Court of Final Appeal has yet to be fixed…
