Dutch asset manager Robeco Institutional Asset Management (Robeco) has been granted a Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise (WFOE) business license and set up a China research team in Shanghai.
With the establishment of the WFOE and the new research team in Shanghai, Robeco strengthens its on-the-ground research capabilities and expands its sales, marketing and client services activities in mainland China. In addition to its new research team, the WFOE office hosts the company’s China sales team. The Mainland is one of the largest and fastest growing asset management markets in Asia and Robeco is among the first international asset management companies to be awarded a WFOE license in the PRC.
Led by Jie Lu, head of research China, the China research team is an integral part of Robeco’s Hong Kong-headquartered Asia-Pacific investment team, headed up by Arnout van Rijn, CIO Asia Pacific. The Hong Kong team manages four strategies – Asia Pacific equities, Asia ex-Japan equities, Chinese equities and Indian equities. The China research team will focus on A-share investment research and will provide advice to Robeco portfolio managers globally. Mr. Lu reports to Victoria Mio, co-head of Asia-Pacific equities and CIO China.
Hong Kong-based Ms. Mio comments: “The expansion of Robeco’s Asia-Pacific presence via the launch of our WFOE and China research team is an important part of our growth strategy for the region. China continues to demonstrate its commitment to opening its capital markets to global investors, as evidenced by the anticipated inclusion of A-shares in the MSCI Emerging Market Index and the various Stock Connect programmes. We believe China is an increasingly important component of global investors’ portfolios and our China research team will be able to provide valuable local insights that many Robeco strategies will benefit from.”
Mr. Lu adds: “Whereas China used to be very much export-driven, the domestic side of the economy is becoming ever more important – the investible new economy that is emerging in China demands more attention on the research side. Our dedicated China research team will work closely with the wider Asia-Pacific investment team, enhancing our regional investment capability by applying our fundamental investment approach to the China market.”
Robeco opened a representative office in Shanghai in 2007 and the firm believes the establishment of a WFOE is an exciting first step to tap into the potential the market has to offer, and will be actively looking into new business areas such as the Qualified Domestic Limited Partnership (QDLP) scheme. As at September 30 this year, Robeco had US$154 billion in assets under management.
