From the press release desk this week…
People moves
Pinebridge Investments has appointed Daniel Tai as senior vice president for institutional business, covering the Greater China market. Based in Hong Kong, he will report to Maggie Zhao, managing director and head of institutional business for Greater China. Before Pinebridge, he spent 10 years at Amundi, where he was head of client servicing for North Asia. Before that, he held senior client-facing roles at Fidelity and Invesco in Hong Kong…
The Investment Management Association of Singapore (Imas) has appointed Carmen Wee as CEO. She will replace Michael Lim, who will be stepping down at the end of June. Wee is a veteran of Singapore’s asset management industry. Between 2008 and 2012, she was head of sales for Asia at Natixis Global Asset Management. She was also previously senior vice president and head of distribution for South Asia at Lehman Brothers’ investment management division and director for marketing and client services for institutions at DBS Asset Management…
Ashley Alder, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission’s CEO, has been reappointed as chair of the new board of the International Organisation of Securities Commission (Iosco). The Iosco board is made up of 34 securities regulators globally and is the governing and standard-setting body of the Iosco, which is the leading international policy forum for securities regulators…
Business moves
London-based Architas is penetrating the Hong Kong market with the launch of three funds: the Architas Flexible Bond, Architas Multi-Asset Balanced and the Architas Flexible Equity funds. The multi-asset funds, which have been registered with the SFC, will be distributed through Axa’s insurance products, Nicolas Deschamps, head of client group at Architas, told FSA. “The Axa Group recognises the need for the highest quality investment provision to be delivered consistently across its global footprint, and Architas’ move to strategically support the Asian insurance business is a key part of that initiative,” he said…
Shanghai-based ICBC-Axa Life Insurance has been given a green light by China’s insurance regulator to set up an asset management subsidiary in the country. The registered capital of the subsidiary, which is 100% owned by the joint venture insurance company, is RMB 100m ($15.76m), the insurer said in its website. This is the first joint venture insurance firm that was approved to set up an asset management subsidiary…
Greater China developments
The SFC has issued this week a circular to intermediaries to provide guidance on the statutory and regulatory requirements for the use of instant messaging applications to receive orders from clients. The circular encourages firms to take adequate measures to ensure compliance with the requirements, which include keeping proper records of messages relating to client orders and ensuring they are accessible for monitoring and audit purposes, as well as validating client identities and maintaining adequate safeguards to prevent unauthorised account access and cybersecurity attacks…
China has extended its renminbi qualified foreign institutional investor (RQFII) scheme to Japan. Japan will be granted RMB 200bn ($31bn) in quotas, according to local media reports, quoting Chinese Premier LI Keqiang on Wednesday during his meeting with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe…
S&P Dow Jones Indices and the Taiwan Futures Exchange (Taifex) have jointly launched Taiwan’s first RMB futures indices, which track listed renminbi futures in Taiwan. These indices seek to track the performance of the inverse of the nearest quarterly month RTF or RHF futures contract traded on the Taifex, reflecting the numbers of the US dollar per offshore RMB for Taiwan or Hong Kong…
Fintech
Schroder Investment Management has announced the first start-up to join its global in-residence programme. The fintech firm, Qwil Messenger, is a secure instant messaging platform that enables firms and clients across jurisdictions to communicate directly through one app, while also meeting data privacy and protection requirements international businesses face. Schroders is targeting fintech companies which have progressed beyond the conceptual or early-growth stage that offer solutions relevant to investment management…
