HSBC has become the custodian bank for the first RQFII ETF (RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor Exchange-traded Fund) to be listed in Europe.
The CSOP Source FTSE China A50 UCITS ETF is listed on the London Stock Exchange. This mandate provides further evidence of HSBC’s ability to connect global investors with China as the pace of renminbi internationalisation accelerates.
The CSOP Source FTSE China A50 UCITS ETF, which listed on 9 January, was the first ETF to be listed on the UK stock market using investment quota approved under the RQFII pilot scheme, a programme launched in 2011 to open up investment in renminbi-denominated Chinese securities to overseas investors.
HSBC is providing a range of securities services to the ETF, including trusteeship, global custody, fund accounting and transfer agency as well as acting as RQFII custodian, having assisted CSOP Asset Management Limited (CSOP) in obtaining the approval for RQFII quota of Rmb 1.5 billion from China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange.
Cian Burke, global co-head of HSBC securities services, said: “HSBC is delighted to be the custodian that supported the first RQFII ETF to be listed in Europe. The listing of this ETF reflects China’s rapid progress in opening up its capital market to global investors. Capitalising on HSBC's strength as the leading custodian bank in servicing foreign institutional investors in China and our ability to provide one-stop securities services under the UCITS platform, we look forward to supporting our clients in investing across the globe, including China as the liberalisation of its capital markets continues.”
