BlackRock's China unit raises $1 billion in maiden mutual fund

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – BlackRock’s mutual fund subsidiary in China established its first fund in the country after raising 6.68 billion yuan ($1.03 billion) in a shortened subscription period, signalling a warm reception by Chinese investors.

BlackRock, the first foreign asset manager to operate a wholly-owned business in China’s $3.6 trillion mutual fund industry, said on Wednesday its newly-launched China equity fund had raised 6.68 billion yuan from over 111,000 investors.

The BlackRock China New Horizon Mixed Securities Investment Fund, launched on Aug. 30, stopped taking new subscriptions on Sept. 3, a week earlier than planned.

“We are very proud of achieving this milestone for our China fund management business, and are grateful for investors’ overwhelming support,” Rachel Lord, BlackRock’s Chair and Head of Asia Pacific said in a statement.

The fundraising by BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, is being closely watched as more global players are preparing to enter China’s fast-growing, but highly-competitive mutual fund market.

Fidelity International is setting up its mutual fund subsidiary in China, while Neuberger Berman, Schroders PLC and VanEck have also applied to set up China units to sell retail funds. Beijing scrapped a foreign ownership cap in the sector on April 1, 2020.

BlackRock, which entered China more than 15 years ago, also owns a minority-owned mutual fund venture in China, as well as a majority-owned Chinese wealth management venture.

($1 = 6.4662 Chinese yuan)

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