China-focused asset manager Value Partners aims for growth in Singapore as it reportedly seeks to expand by hiring and relocating staff from Hong Kong.
Hong Kong-headquartered Value Partners plans to expand in Singapore by increasing headcount and adding office space, according to a «Bloomberg» interview with co-chair Cheah Cheng Hye.
One of the main drivers for its plans in Singapore has been an increasing concentration of family offices, the number of which has nearly doubled to 700 in the last year alone.
Expansion Plans
In Singapore, Value Partners plans to hire fresh talent as well as provide offers for some of its portfolio managers and investment analysts to relocate alongside their families given it currently has fewer than 10 staff placed there.
«People are competing for a limited pool of talent,» said Cheah.
The firm will also add office space and upgrade its Singapore license in order to allow it to sell funds to retail clients.
Follow the Money
Value Partners marks another financial firm seeking to expand in Singapore by reallocating resources from Hong Kong. According to a recent survey by the Hong Kong Investment Fund Association (HKIFA), 35 percent of global asset managers have relocated regional and global posts away from the city while 13 percent have cut headcount.
«We are following the money,» said Cheah. «This is a promising and fast-growing market.»
Value Partners was co-founded in 1993 by Cheah, a financial veteran who has been working in Hong Kong since the 1980s together with businessman Yeh V-nee. It subsequently became the first asset manager listed on the Hong Kong exchange in 2007 and specializes in funds investing in Chinese markets. It currently has around $6.8 billion in assets under management and 200 staff in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, and London.
