In light of increasingly international cross-border fund distribution, BNP Paribas Securities Services announced intentions to launch a full range of services targeting local funds in Hong Kong.
“Cross?border fund distribution is becoming more international than ever both in terms of geographies and asset management domiciles as international investors are looking to diversify their asset allocation together with an increasing appetite for high growth asset classes, in particular RMB,” said the bank in a release.
It noted that two main trends have emerged as a result: on the one hand Asian fund houses are making more use of their Hong Kong subsidiaries while on the other, large international asset managers are shifting to Hong Kong domiciled funds such as RQFII products.
Aiming to address the needs of local and international asset managers, BNP Paribas has reinforced its full range of services, with the intent of positioning itself as the single bank able to cater to both Asian and international asset managers. The service offering includes global custody services, as well as a fund administration service model combining centralised activities such as securities database management and asset pricing with local expertise.
Also, the bank promised core transfer agent services for locally domiciled funds, and trustee services that represent and protect the interests of investors.
Mostapha Tahiri, head of asset & fund services in Asia Pacific at BNP Paribas Securities Services, said: “Hong Kong is the second hub for global distribution in Asia of UCITS products allowing asset managers to expand regionally and target European institutional investors. But for asset managers to be successful in such a complex region, they must be locally present with both onshore and offshore product strategies.”
“At BNP Paribas, we are already leader in Europe in servicing UCITS products, and now with our trust company live, BNP Paribas Hong Kong can provide a complete range of fund services based on our local and regional operating model.”
This product launch reinforces the bank’s continuous commitment to the Hong Kong market and is in line with the strategic objectives supporting asset managers looking at new areas of growth in Asia.
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