A slowdown in the growth of China's asset pool is not deterring new entrants among fund managers.
More asset managers are setting up shop and launching new products in China, alongside the existing managers, says independent consultancy Z-Ben Advisors. The market expects the development of a defined contribution scheme in China to lead to a pick-up in the growth of assets.
In the second quarter there was $35.45 billion in assets under management in China, a 16% increase on the previous quarter, according to Z-Ben. However, this is a slowdown from the growth seen earlier in the year. From the fourth quarter of 2003 to the first quarter this year the total size of industry assets rose by 50% from $20.72 billion to $30.55 billion.
Despite the deceleration in asset growth, the number of new entrants into the fund management industry in China continues to grow. The total number of fully operational managers ? those with an operational licence and a product offering ? has grown from 26 at the beginning of the year to 36 at the beginning of August, according to Z-Ben. ?The number of new players can also be expected to grow for the remainder of the year and well into next year,? says Z-Ben founder Peter Alexander.