China Universal Asset Management offers new UCITS fund

China Universal Asset Management, one of China’s top 10 asset managers, is launching a new Luxembourg-based Chinese bond fund aimed at institutional investors, family offices and private banks in Europe.

The fund launch is a signal of the growing importance of the Chinese renminbi and the opening up of China’s equity and bond markets for overseas investors. The new fund will be structured as a Luxembourg UCITS fund and will invest in the domestic Chinese bond market. Commenting on the fund, China Universal chairman, Dr Li Wen, said: “The launch of this new SICAV marks a significant milestone in the expansion of China Universal in Europe. As fixed income returns in developed markets continue to remain low, we believe there will be considerable interest from European institutional investors, family offices and private banks in accessing the Chinese domestic bond market, which is now larger than those of both France and Germany and is highly liquid and transparent.”

China Universal has approximately 500 staff and $58 billion in assets under management. Its headquarters are based in Shanghai and it has a Hong Kong subsidiary for international investors. Overseas investors currently account for around 1.7% of China’s capital markets but this is expected to rise to the 20% to 30% found in most emerging markets.