The newly-approved funds are: the Emerging Markets Bond Fund; the Euro Corporate Bond Fund; the European High Yield Bond Fund; and the Global High Income Bond Fund.
The four Sicav products are the firm’s first fixed income funds to be granted SFC authorisation, which was issued on 30 August.
The funds, which until now had been available to professional investors in Hong Kong, are now eligible for retail sale. The firm’s Hong Kong-based spokeswoman would not say when retail sale would commence.
In Singapore, the funds are still only available to accredited investors, she added.
“The registering of these funds marks a new milestone for T Rowe Price in the Hong Kong market, following the successful registration of six equity funds in the city,” said Elsie Chan, the firm’s head of intermediaries for Asia ex-Japan.
The firm first received an SFC authorisation for its funds in 2016, the regulator’s records show. Today it has ten SFC-registered funds, most recently having added the Natural Resources Fund in June.
Chan said that the firm would look to bring more of its funds to Hong Kong, adding that its decisions would be based on the evaluation of investors’ needs and market conditions.
T Rowe Price has been ramping up its operations in the region. Earlier this week, the firm appointed Thomas Poullaouec as head of multi-asset solutions for Asia-Pacific, responsible for engaging with institutional investors in the region, according to a statement by the firm. Before joining T Rowe Price, Poullaouec was managing director for Asia-Pacific at State Street Global Advisors, and head of strategy and research in the firm’s investment solutions group.
T Rowe Price also made two appointments earlier this month in its Japan businesses: Kuniaki Doi was named head of retail business and Yasuo Miyajima, head of institutional investors business.
