Opinion | Fund houses face tough sell in city after 2011 mess

A landmark plan to allow cross-border sales of mutual funds directly between Hong Kong and the mainland could turn out to be an exercise in futility for mainland money managers, if past experience with yuan-denominated institutional investments is any guide.

When Beijing launched renminbi qualified foreign institutional investors (RQFII) schemes in December 2011, it granted licences to 21 subsidiaries of mainland securities firms and fund houses to sell yuan fund products in Hong Kong that would invest in mainland-listed stocks and bonds.

Sales bombed and many firms struggled to fill even half their target quota. Why? Because while the firms were big names on the mainland, they were largely unknown to investors elsewhere.

The China Regulatory Securities Commission (CSRC) appears to have taken this fact on board. Its recent expansion of RQFII providers to 28 included Hong Kong brand names like HSBC, Hang Seng Bank and BOCHK Asset Management.

Maybe that's a sign of a change of tack at the CSRC that bodes well for the selection of mainland fund houses it will permit to sell products here.

The eerie quiet from mainland money managers on the prospects for sales in Hong Kong suggests wary sentiment.