China Post, a Chinese state-owned postal company, has acquired a Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) exchange-traded fund (ETF) range in the first deal of its kind between a Hong Kong and a European firm.
Hong Kong-based China Post has acquired RBS’ Market Access ETFs, which hold assets of £285 million (€360 million). The ETF acquisition marks the firm’s first foray into Europe.
A spokesperson for the Hong Kong firm says it is also the first time a Hong Kong-based asset manager has acquired a European Ucits ETF umbrella and its investment management team.
The Market Access ETFs will be seeded with additional capital to make them more attractive to institutional investors.
China Post Global plans to cross-list Market Access’s existing range of ten ETFs in Hong Kong, and develop Chinese equity and fixed income ETFs that will be available in both Europe and Asia. It also intends to build China’s first smart-beta ETFs.
China Post has assets of $1.05 trillion (€1.34 trillion). Its subsidiaries include insurance, banking and asset management operations.
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