European asset managers Natixis and Amundi make push into Hong Kong
France's Natixis is pushing into Hong Kong and has high hopes that it will match its high-performing Japan office in two years
Global asset managers Natixis and Amundi, two of the world's top 15 fund houses by assets, are set to expand in Hong Kong, hiring more professionals as more hot money flows into the city.
Paris-headquartered Natixis Global Asset Management opened an office in Hong Kong last week, mainly to deal with sales of its wealth management products. The firm has high hopes for the new office, which may have the potential to catch up with its Japan unit.
The Japan office of Natixis, which is also a relatively new player in the region, has experienced a 32 per cent jump in assets under management (AUM) over the past two years, said John Hailer, president and chief executive for US and Asia at Natixis, the world's 13th biggest asset manager by AUM.
"We want (Hong Kong) to be a very important hub for Asia … this is a potential bridge for us into the mainland," Hailer said.
Globally, Natixis manages US$710 billion as of the second quarter this year.
It plans to start its fund-raising activities next year, targeting local investors, said Hailer, who declined to give an AUM target for the Hong Kong office, which now has five investment professionals.
"We would like this (Hong Kong office) to be not only a distribution business (and) development office, but also eventually would like to have service, operations and administration functions based in Hong Kong," Hailer said.
