A Chinese asset manager is the first to qualify under a Swiss-Hong Kong scheme to sell funds in either market.
Switzerland and Hong Kong inked a plan in December to allow Swiss and Hong Kong public funds to be distributed in either market through a simplified approval process.
Less than seven months later, Hong Kong-based Harvest Global Investments is the first fund manager to qualify for the scheme, after Swiss regulator Finma approved its application, according to various media reports.
Deep Ties
Harvest Global Investments is a unit of Harvest Fund Management, a China-based asset manager. Ties between Switzerland and China have run deep for years: Chinese leader Xi Jinping in January spent four days in Switzerland on a state visit.
One of the first countries to recognize the new People's Republic of China in 1950, Switzerland has since then fostered close trade ties, and the alpine nation has bid to become a renminbi trading hub and to help China liberalize.
French bank BNP Paribas' securities unit will provide Harvest with services to help the asset manager distribute its Hong Kong-approved funds in Switzerland, including a foreign representative, paying agent and transfer agency.
