SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China Resources Trust said on Wednesday it had set up its first product under China’s outbound investment scheme QDII that would give Chinese investors the opportunity to put money into an offshore mutual fund managed by BlackRock.
The product, sold via HSBC Bank (China) and targeted at private banking clients, has been launched amid rising Chinese interest in allocating assets overseas.
The product “mainly invests in a mutual fund managed by BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited and would help qualified domestic investors … diversify assets globally,” China Resources Trust (CR Trust) said in a statement.
The product offers investors the chance to put money into BSF Emerging Companies Absolute Return Fund, managed by BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Ltd, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.
QDII, or Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor, is a key channel for Chinese investors to buy overseas securities.
Highlighting the growing interest in overseas investment, Chinese mutual funds under QDII had net organic inflows of 15.6 billion yuan ($2.28 billion) in Oct-Dec last year, doubling from the previous three months, and marking eighth consecutive quarter of growth, according to Z-Ben Advisors.
CR Trust is one of China’s biggest trust firms, and partners with U.S. hedge fund giant Bridgewater’s China unit. The cooperation with BlackRock marks the first time CR Trust has teamed up with a global asset manager in outbound investment products.
($1 = 6.8363 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Summer Zhen and Samuel Shen. Editing by Jane Merriman)