Aberdeen Standard to launch onshore equity fund

Aberdeen Standard Investments, the largest asset manager of the United Kingdom, said Wednesday it will launch its first onshore equity fund in China in the middle of this year, which will invest in the country's A-share market.

The asset manager held a positive view on the Chinese equities and fixed-income markets in 2018, despite the country's potential growth moderation.

"We are optimistic about the overall outlook of the Chinese economy and we think the consumer sector in particular will do well in 2018. It means there is potential in the Chinese equities market," said Irene Goh, head of multi-asset solutions for Asia Pacific at Aberdeen Standard.

The investment firm, with assets of $764 billion under its management, gained regulatory approval to launch onshore funds in China in December, as its wholly foreign-owned enterprise, Aberdeen Asset Management (Shanghai) Co Ltd, successfully registered as a private securities investment fund manager with the Asset Management Association of China.

Donald Amstad, the firm's head of investment specialists for Asia Pacific, said Chinese government bonds and bonds issued by the country's policy banks look "incredibly attractive" given their relatively higher yield compared to countries such as Japan and Germany.

The firm will launch a fund investing in Chinese sovereign bonds in Luxembourg the second quarter of this year, which will allow overseas investors to tap opportunities in the Chinese bond market, Amstad said.