Fund managers continue to regard Asia as a source of growth. High savings rates, favourable demographics, market liberalisation, fast-growing economies and an expanding middle class are most commonly cited as the main drivers.
Judging by the number of licenses granted in Hong Kong and Singapore over the past several years, both regional financial centres feature high on the list of places where fund managers want to set up shop and establish their Asian presence. These jurisdictions continue to encourage international managers and they periodically announce initiatives aimed at making it easier to build an on the ground presence. So-called fund passport arrangements are now a hot topic for managers, as companies look for ways to bring their capabilities efficiently to multiple markets through scale.
In Hong Kong the number of companies operating under fund management licences has risen from just under 800 at the end of 2010 to 967 at the end of March this year. While not all of these companies are large global firms, there have been a number of notable market entrants from Europe, the US and mainland China. In Singapore, the industry has grown from 107 in 2010 to 158 at the end of last year.