First State to launch China A Shares UCITS fund

Wider access for European investors

First State Investments has launched a UCITS version of its China A-shares strategy to meet growing European demand for companies from mainland China, listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges.

The First State China A Shares fund will be a sub-fund of its Dublin-domiciled UCITS structure, and will be managed by the First State Stewart Asia team, led by portfolio manager Quanqiang Xian who is based in Hong Kong. He said: "Ten years ago we were one of the first companies to receive a quota approval under the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor programme. "With the launch of this new fund we remain focused on investing in companies with good governance and proven capabilities, as well as looking for evidence of increasing ESG standards and rising cash flows. "We believe...