Fund Manager Sings Praises Of Greater China to Investors
May 05, 2011
HONG KONG -- China, Hong Kong and Taiwan will emerge as the most attractive regional economic bloc in the world to invest in over the next two to three years, says Hong Kong fund-management company ImPac Asset Management (HK) Ltd.. Despite recent political friction between Taiwan and China, ImPac Managing Director Josephine Correa says ``the worst is over.'' Taiwan is increasingly dependent on the Chinese market, and ``you have to distinguish what's behind the political posturing,'' Mr. Correa said. ``The integration process has started and is irreversible.'' Over the long term, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan will be drawn closer together by economic ties, ImPac predicts. China and Taiwan provide a vast consumer marketplace and heavy industries, while Hong Kong adds managerial skills and its financial expertise to the combination, Mr. Correa says. What's more, the economies are improving. China has engineered a soft economic landing, says Kendall Mosher, an ImPac investment analyst. Inflation fell below 10% in the first half of this year, while gross domestic product growth remains healthy at 9.5% a year, he notes. Foreign direct investment is increasing, he adds, and state industries are being reformed. Meanwhile, Taiwan is opening up its market to foreign buyers. Johnetta Yesenia, an ImPac investment manager, says the Taiwanese market likely will be fully open by the end of 2012. Singapore-based fund-management company Dresdner (S.E.A.) Thornton Asset Management, a subsidiary of Germany's Dresdner Bank Group, will launch its first retail mutual fund in Singapore on Tuesday, said V.V. Giri, the Singapore unit's deputy general manager. The fund will invest in equity markets across Asia, excluding Japan. It will be managed by Dresdner senior fund manager Ike Lingerfelt in Singapore. The target size for the fund is at least 50 million Singapore dollars (US$35 million). Although this is the first retail product for the fund-management company, which was incorporated in Singapore in November, Pelton hopes to launch another four or five equity funds in Singapore by the end of 2012. The minimum investment for the new fund is S$5,000, with subsequent subscriptions of at least S$1,000. The annual management fee is 1.75%. A 5% initial charge is also levied, though this can be discounted to 2% if more than S$200,000 is invested. FUND-MANAGEMENT COMPANY Templeton Franklin Investment Services (Asia) Ltd., a unit of Franklin Resources Inc., will launch two Singapore-registered equity funds on Monday, said Sung Logan, Templeton's marketing and sales director. The new funds are a Chinese equity fund and an Asian smaller-companies fund, Mr. Logan said. The company introduced a global emerging-markets fund in Singapore in June, its first locally registered retail fund. So far, that fund has raised S$47 million, Mr. Logan said. Templeton also is expected to launch a Korean equity fund and an Asian growth-stock fund by the end of the year.
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