BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP AM) announced that its wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE), BNP Paribas Overseas Investment Fund Management (Shanghai) Co. Limited, has been granted a Qualified Domestic Limited Partner (QDLP) qualification. The Shanghai-based QDLP programme allows global asset managers to raise funds from domestic investors in China to buy overseas traditional and alternative assets such as equities and real estate investment trusts.
In line with the enhanced focus from Mainland investors towards sustainable investing; which can be attributed in part to the increased validation of the approach by the Chinese government and industry organisations, BNPP AM is the first global fund manager with a QDLP quota to offer a fund focused on ESG investments.
Ligia Torres, CEO of BNP Paribas Asset Management Asia-Pacific, commented:
China is a key growth market for BNP Paribas Asset Management. Through this programme, qualified high net worth and institutional investors in China seeking to diversify their investments across an expanding range of asset classes and geographies can now access our global expertise as an investment solutions provider.
Since 2004, BNPP AM has provided its global clients with access to the Chinese market as one of the largest global Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor managers. On September 2014, BNPP AM was granted one of the first RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (RQFII) licenses in France and the Eurozone. The firm has since acquired RQFII licenses in Hong Kong and Korea. BNPP AM obtained a 49% share in HFT Investment Management in 2003, and was one of the first joint venture fund management companies granted approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to provide Chinese local financial products to onshore investors.
To facilitate the launch of the QDLP program, BNPP AM established its WFOE in December 2014 and is among the first group of global asset management WFOEs operating in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone.