Dutch asset manager NN Investment Partners (NN IP) has formed a strategic partnership with China Asset Management Co Ltd (ChinaAMC) to help the Chinese asset manager develop international environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing practices.
The Hague-based NN IP, which specialises in active management and sustainable investments, introduced its first sustainable equity fund in 1999.
NN IP will be an adviser to ChinaAMC, the ninth largest asset manager in the Mainland, and help the company “develop and adapt international best practices in integrating ESG factors into its investment processes”, the Dutch company says in a statement on April 20.
According to its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Satish Bapat, “ChinaAMC’s in-depth knowledge of the Chinese capital market and NN IP’s long heritage in sustainable investing is a complementary combination that we believe may create long-term value for investors”.
Mr. Bapat also says the partnership will enable the two companies to collaborate on opportunities from the One Belt and One Road (OBOR) initiative. This is a China-led infrastructure plan aimed at strengthening economic connectivity along 60 Asian and European countries.
“We are excited by the investment opportunities generated by OBOR and through mutual collaboration we believe clients of both firms will benefit from NN IP’s core expertise in managing emerging and frontier market debt and ChinaAMC’s on-the-ground presence in China,” he says.
According to ChinaAMC CEO Tang Xiaodong, his company “hopes to bring more sophisticated investment strategies into China through cooperation with globally renowned asset management organisations like NN IP”.
“ChinaAMC also hopes to increase the international institutions’ understanding of China capital markets and the Chinese asset management industry, so that these investors will also have more opportunities to participate in China’s economic development,” he adds.
ChinaAMC had US$145 billion in total assets under management (AUM) as at March 31, 2018. NN IP had AUM of $296 billion at the end of 2017.