Exclusive: Luxembourg funds association to set up in Hong Kong

The Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (Alfi) is to establish an on-the-ground presence in Hong Kong.

Alfi chairman Claude Kremer told Hedge Funds Review the association had committed to the move. The exact timing was yet to be decided, but Alfi hoped to have an office open by the summer of 2010.

The Luxembourg initiative would follow that of Jersey Finance, which opened a Hong Kong office in October 2009. Guernsey Finance has a similar presence in Shanghai.

Kremer said delegations from Luxembourg had made regular visits to Asia to promote the country's fund industry to investors in the region for some time but Alfi felt the industry could benefit from a permanent presence.

Alfi director general Camille Thommes added that an on-the-ground presence would enable the association to liaise more closely with the market, talk to the Hong Kong regulator, and assist members to market funds to local investors.

Kremer said Asian investors were, like others elsewhere in the world, increasingly looking at regulated products such as Luxembourg's onshore fund vehicles.

Luxembourg is the largest domicile for Ucits funds, which have been a big hit in Asia. According to a 2009 study by the European Fund and Asset Management Association, around 17% of all Ucits fund sales are made in Asia when measured in terms of assets under management.