HSBC has been appointed sub custodian to Harvest Global Investments’ RQFII ETF tracking CSI300 Index which is the first Luxembourg domiciled RQFII UCITS listed on London Stock Exchange.
Harvest is a Chinese asset manager with over $49 billion in assets under management.
This mandate is the latest in a string of announcements since the beginning of the year.
HSBC became the first custodian bank to service a RQFII fund in London when the China Securities Services Regulatory Commission granted a licence to enter China's domestic securities market to asset manager Ashmore Group under a pilot scheme. HSBC facilitated the company's application for a licence.
HSBC was also appointed custodian bank for the CSOP Source FTSE China A50 UCITS ETF. The fund, which listed on 9 January, is the first ETF to be listed on the UK stock market using investment quota approved under the RQFII pilot scheme.
HSBC will provide a full range of securities services to the ETF including trusteeship, global custody, fund accounting and transfer agency as well as acting as RQFII custodian.
Cian Burke, global co-head of HSBC securities services, said: "We are delighted to be providing sub custodian services to Harvest's first London-listed ETF. This mandate further demonstrates HSBC's understanding of the China market which gives us the capability to connect global investors to developing opportunities in China.”
“The rapid internationalisation of the renminbi, and the opening up of China's capital markets to foreign institutional investors, plays to HSBC's strengths as a leading custodian bank with a global footprint and a substantial presence in China. We see significant demand for ETF products tracking physical China ‘A’ shares in Europe, and expect listings to expand to other major cities in Europe in the near future".
