Harvest Global Investments, a Chinese-owned fund manager, says it has become the first firm to qualify funds under a mutual funds recognition scheme operated between Switzerland and Hong Kong.
The qualification means that Swiss investors can allocate funds to Harvest’s China equity and Asia frontier strategies, which have exposure to various investment channels including Hong Kong-listed securities and frontier Asian markets such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
China’s Securities and Futures Commission and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority signed a memorandum of understanding in December last year that underpins the Switzerland-Hong Kong Mutual Recognition of Funds and Asset Managers agreement. This allows eligible Swiss and Hong Kong public funds to be distributed in each other’s market through a streamlined vetting process.
Harvest’s China equity strategy focuses on trends in Chinese markets including alternative energy, software and the Internet, consumption upgrade, and innovative technology. The Asia frontier strategy identifies opportunities in structural themes, such as China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative and the growth of consumption and tourism-related industries.
Ashley Dale, chief business development officer and chief marketing officer, said Harvest’s on-the-ground team understood the complexities of risk in on-shore and offshore Chinese investing and how policy decisions impacted local markets. He also claimed the team had expertise to identify companies “primed for quantum growth”.
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