The family office of Hong Kong's third richest family and owner of New World Development is preparing the launch of its first hedge fund to take advantage of market opportunities, especially in China.
Avantua Group – the family office founded by New World Development’s Adrian Cheng in 2019 – is seeking to raise $50 million in the new hedge fund. It will fund about one-fifth of the amount itself and plans to complete fundraising by September before starting to invest in a long-short strategy.
«We see a window now. While the US is tightening policies, China is loosening up to save the virus-hit economy,» said Avantua chief investment officer Edward Liu Chang in an «SCMP» report.
«There have to be more supportive policies from the government to keep the economy afloat. And considering that the key driver of China’s equity market is still policy, we believe that it is bottoming out. We really hope that we can ride on it and start our position now, particularly in those government-friendly sectors, like next generation energy and new infrastructure.»
Ambitious Goals
More than just being a vehicle to manage family money, Avantua «ultra goal» is to build a track record and become a top investment firm in China and Asia over time, according to the family office’s managing director Xu Hao. Avantua currently manages US$2 billion of assets which includes an equity focus on private markets in the first two years of its operations.
«To achieve that, we need to establish a brand that can consistently make gains for our shareholders and investors in the long run. Now is a good time to step into the secondary market,» Xu.
Avantua chairman Cheng is the third generation leader of Hong Kong developer New World Development which was founded by his late grandfather Cheung Yu-tung. According to Forbes, the Cheng’s are Hong Kong’s third wealthiest family with a net worth of more than $25 billion.
