A fund company controlled by Shenzhen municipal government-backed Guoxin Securities is expected to launch a state-approved mutual fund as early as next month, paving the way for the second round of launches of mutual funds.
Industry sources said Shenzhen-based Guoxin would take a 50 per cent stake in the soon-to-be-formed fund company, although the China Securities Regulatory Commission tends to favour fund companies that are equally held among shareholders.
The remaining stake in the fund company would be shared equally among Beijing International Trust and Investment Corp (ITIC), Zhejiang Securities, Liaoning-based Anshan Trust and Investment (T&I) Corp and Shenzhen-based United Securities.
It is understood United Securities has not decided whether it will join the fund company in view of Guoxin's majority stake.
Industry sources said the fund company, carrying a registered share capital of 80 million yuan (about HK$74.4 million) would, like the first five funds, launch a close-ended fund of two billion yuan each for investment in listed stocks and treasury bonds as early as October. The fund would be listed in Shenzhen.
Beijing said in July it would double the number of mutual funds to 10 by the end of this year, to speed up growth of an institutional-investor base in stock markets.
As the initial excessive premium of closed-end funds had shrunk sharply as the number of funds rose and markets fell, fund-management hopefuls believe professional fund management would be in great demand.