JARDINE Fleming Unit Trusts yesterday mapped out its strategy for tapping nascent investment opportunities across the globe with the launch of the first of three emerging markets funds.
The Jardine Fleming Asian Emerging Markets Trust will give investors access to Asian markets which are on the verge of rapid economic growth.
The fund will focus initially on investment opportunities in Indonesia, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, China and the Philippines. Investments might also be made in Vietnam and Burma.
The managing director of Jardine Fleming Investment Management, Robert Thomas, said the Asian fund would be joined later by an emerging markets fund focusing on Latin America and then by a European fund.
'An umbrella formation will ultimately be established over the three funds,' Mr Thomas said.
Economies that fall into the emerging markets category generally belong to poor countries that have the potential for, or are already enjoying, rapid growth.
Asia's emerging economies, with their large populations and developing capital markets, are tipped to be among the fastest-growing in the world.