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From Christine Gaylican, Opalesque Asia:
In the latest survey of the alternative fund industry of China’s state province crisis (Source), the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (HK-SFC) found a surge in licenses issued to hedge fund managers in Q1-09.
The number of hedge funds managed by SFC-licensed hedge fund managers in Hong Kong surged to 542 as of 31 March-09 compared to a full-year total of 488 recorded in 2008.
The volume of assets managed by the hedge fund sector in HK stood at $55.3 billion for the first quarter. The industry is still targeting to surpass the $90.1 billion in assets held by the industry for the entire 2008.
Frederic Neuman, HSBC’s senior economist for Asia in Hong Kong, told Opalesque in a telephone interview today said that this growth would be possible with the growth achieved in the region.
He noted that based on the results of the HSBC Emerging Market Index, some 5,000 firms across Asia expanded purchases from 50.7 in Q2 to 55.3 in Q3, signaling the strongest quarterly increase in emerging market manufacturing and service output since Q2 of last year.
The index, based on a survey of purchases of 5,000 firms across Asia, rebounded sharply from an all-time low of 43.8 recorded in the final quarter of last year and 44.3 in Q1-09. Neuman explained that any reading below 50 indicates a contraction of output...................... To view our full article Click here
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