Hong Kong fund managers want more freedom to invest in securities - including investments by Mandatory Provident Funds in real estate investment trusts (reits).
'We will continue to have discussions with the Securities and Futures Commission, and the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, about broadening investment options for the investment funds' industry,' said Elisabeth Scott, chairman of the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association.
Ms Scott's remarks came at a report on the industry's performance for the year. Gross fund sales for the first 10 months were almost US$12 billion, she said, but redemptions of US$10.1 billion left net sales at US$1.8 billion.
Ms Scott said she believed fund sales next year would be good because investors were becoming more sophisticated.
Equity funds make up most fund sales, accounting for almost 59 per cent, or US$7 billion, of gross sales.
Association spokeswoman Sally Wong Chi-ming said the rules governing the industry were too restrictive, which meant that MPF funds could not fully cover products and investment markets.
MPF managers can invest in reits under strict conditions.
