On Monday this week Fortis was authorised by the China Securities Regulator (CSRC) as a Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII). Fortis, together with its partner, the Bank of China, will now apply for a quota with the State Authority for Foreign Exchange (SAFE) as the next step towards becoming a fully operational QFII.
Fortis Investments was one of first foreign asset managers to be granted a joint venture licence for the domestic Chinese investment market in January 2003. The joint venture, Fortis Haitong Investment Management Ltd, has since become one of the largest asset managers in China, with approximately US$ 1.5 billion of assets under management.
Fortis Investments will, in the first instance, develop the Fortis QFII licence. Its aim is to offer institutional investors direct access to the Chinese A-share markets through structuring the licence into an open-ended, Luxembourg-domiciled fund. Fortis says institutional investors have been indicating increasing interest in exposure to China and direct participation into the A-share market provides them with better diversification than can be achieved indirectly via Hong Kong.
Fortis Bank and Fortis Insurance are equally active in China through joint ventures.