Income Partners’s Shanghai-based wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE) has received a private fund management (PFM) licence in China on Tuesday, according to records from the Asset Management Association of China (Amac).
Having a PFM licence enables foreign entities to develop and sell funds investing in onshore assets to domestic qualified investors, which include institutional and high net worth investors.
Usually, there is a six-month limit for new PFM license holders to register a fund for launch, but that has recently been extended to 12 months due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The licence approval comes after the firm established its WFOE in August, 2018 which is the prerequisite for onshore fund distribution.
However, the firm had expected to launch a domestic fund last year, according to Emil Nguy, chairman, chief executive officer and chief investment officer for the Hong Kong office, who spoke to FSA previously.
Reasons for the delay are unclear. FSA contacted the firm but it was unable to provide more information in time for publication.
Nguy said previously that he envisions China will play a big part in his company’s fixed income strategy in the medium term.
“In China, if you do one thing well, it is good enough. We continue to focus on one asset class,” he noted.
Nguy said that the firm’s Shanghai WFOE is not purely an onshore foothold to service domestic investors but also for clients from overseas.
Other firms have also obtained the PFM qualification this year, including Russell Investments, Schroder Adveq and BEA Union Investment.
In total, there are two dozen foreign PFM licence holders that have launched 69 onshore funds, according to latest data from Amac.
Among all the foreign PFM license holders, UBS Asset Management owns 13 PFM products in the mainland, leading the pack, followed by Hong Kong-based Value Partners with eight funds.
Income Partners also manages two SFC-authorised funds in Hong Kong, according to FE Fundinfo:
The Income Partners RMB Bond Fund vs category average
The Income Partners Managed Volatility High Yield Bond Fund vs category average
