ING Investment Management has recently registered 34 Luxembourg-domiciled mutual funds in Hong Kong and is preparing to start rolling them out in mid-May. Although these SICAV funds will be available through ING's financial planning, insurance and private banking arms, the investment management unit will be selective about which ones it aims at Asian institutions and retail investors. First on its list are emerging market debt funds in hard and local currencies.
Rob Drijkoningen, head of emerging market debt fixed-income investments in the Hague, Netherlands, is visiting Hong Kong to assess local institutions' awareness of and appetite for emerging market debt. He concedes it's a tough sell.
Investors here have a...
