Eastspring expands China footprint with Shanghai office
Eastspring Investment, a Singapore-based asset manager backed by Prudential, has opened a new office in Shanghai as part of an ongoing China expansion strategy.
The firm initially launched its China unit through a Hong Kong entity in March with a view to accessing high net worth individuals and institutional investors in the country. It described the move as complementary to an existing partnership with China’s CITIC Trust.
The Shanghai office will operate as a full-service investment and distribution base offering Chinese investors access to Eastspring’s global offshore funds while providing global investors with the opportunity to invest directly in China via Eastspring’s onshore investment team.
“We see China as a central part of Prudential’s success, now and into the future,” Nic Nicandrou CEO of Prudential Corporation Asia, said in a statement. “Prudential is committed to serving the long-term protection needs of the Chinese people and helping safeguard their financial future.”
Eastspring’s China plan will also include the launch of a growth equity A-share program next year to tap an expected increase in retail investor activity. Guy Strapp, CEO of Eastspring, said that around 50% of the $4.8 trillion of assets managed in Asia will be from China by 2021. This would represent a doubling of assets managed in the country as of 2016.
Established in 1994, Eastspring claims more than $195 billion in assets under management across Asia and invests via a range of strategies. Its alternatives unit was set up last year with Nadir Maruf, a former partner and CEO at Daestrum Capital, leading the team in the role of CIO. The firm’s CITIC Trust joint venture, known as CITIC-Prudential Fund Management, was created in 2005.
Recent activity includes a commitment to invest $500 million in an emerging markets infrastructure development platform managed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) that aims to raise $5 billion by 2021. Eastspring is the program’s first Asian backer. IFC will originate transactions and provide Eastspring with co-lending opportunities in deals that fit the firm’s investment strategy.
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