Nomura Asset Management’s wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE) in Shanghai has received regulatory approval yesterday to launch a private fund management (PFM) product in the mainland, according to records from the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC).
The Nomura China Equity Select No 2 Private Securities Investment Fund will be the firm’s second PFM product, the first one receiving approval from the AMAC in December last year.
A PFM licence enables foreign entities to develop and sell onshore funds investing in the domestic market to qualified investors in the mainland, which include institutional and high net worth individuals.
Nomura AM established the WFOE in January 2018 and obtained its PFM licence in June 2019, according to the association’s records.
FSA sought more information from the firm, but it was unable to provide more details in time for publication.
In total, around 30 foreign asset managers have been granted PFM licences, with around 100 PFM products having been approved by the AMAC, its records show.
QDLP business
On top of its PFM business, Nomura AM also has a QDLP qualification, which it obtained in 2018.
Later that year, the firm registered the first Japanese equities strategy under the QDLP programme, the Nomura Japan High Conviction Overseas Private Fund.
Having a QDLP license enables foreign firms to raise domestic money to invest in offshore assets, including traditional and alternative funds, with assigned quotas.
This year, Pimco, Franklin Templeton and UBP received the QDLP qualification.
Meanwhile, firms that registered QDLP products this year with the AMAC include Neuberger Berman, Oaktree Capital, Eastspring Investments, Allianz Global Investors and UBP.
As of April, there were 28 foreign managers holding the licence offering at least 40 QDLP funds in China, according to a recent Fleishman Hillard report.
