HSBC Global Asset Management has become the latest overseas institution to be awarded an RQFII license by the China Regulatory Securities Commission (CSRC).
This comes after the regulator granted RQFII status to three overseas entities for the first time in June. The first batch of overseas RQFII participants comprises Hang Seng Investment Management, ICBC (Asia) Investment Management, and Taiping Asset Management (Hong Kong).
The Chinese government is pushing ahead with the development of the RQFII pilot scheme in order to speed up repatriation of the RMB. The initiatives laid down by the authorities include allowing overseas institutions to access the program, and expanding the program to other offshore RMB centers such as Singapore and London.
HSBC Global Asset Management notes that the RQFII license enables the company to invest in the Chinese fixed income markets, including the money markets, as well as the A-share market. This will allow its retail and institutional clients to tap a broad range of new opportunities in mainland China, providing easy and direct access to the growing domestic economy there.
Joanna Munro, CEO, Asia Pacific, at HSBC Global Asset Management, says: “As a leading investment manager in the emerging markets, including mainland China, we are delighted to have received RQFII approval, reinforcing our position as a leading RMB player. Under the RQFII scheme, we are strongly positioned to enhance our RMB capabilities to help our clients capture RMB opportunities and achieve their wealth management goals.
“Such progress on the RQFII scheme bodes well for the development of the asset management industry in Hong Kong, strengthening its position as leading offshore RMB centre.”
The company is planning products that mainly invest in fixed income securities issued or distributed within China.
Up to the end of June, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Safe) has granted a total of 104.9 billion RMB (US$16.6 billion) RQFII quotas.
