ChinaAMC (HK), the Hong Kong arm of Chinese fund house China Asset Management Company, has launched the city's first tokenised money market fund that is also available to retail investors
Hong Kong-listed ChinaAMC (HK), the Hong Kong arm of Chinese fund house China Asset Management Company, has launched what is claimed to be the city’s first tokenised money market fund that is also available to retail investors, as the financial hub expands its offerings to compete as a digital asset hub.
The new Hong Kong dollar-denominated fund, launched on local cryptocurrency exchange OSL and securities brokerage Solomon, aims to provide investors with a low-risk, blockchain-based investment option, the companies said on Friday.
The fund, which is fully subscribed, is investing in ChinaAMC’s existing yuan-denominated money market fund that invests in the safest, most liquid short-term financial instruments. It is also the first fund launched by ChinaAMC’s Hong Kong unit.
ChinaAMC is now the largest asset manager in China and one of the largest in Asia. Its parent company, China Asset Management, is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Central Huiyin Asset Management, a bad bank established by the Chinese government in 1999 to take over the assets and liabilities of bankrupt companies.
Money market funds typically invest in the safest, most liquid short-term financial instruments, offering higher yields and greater flexibility compared with traditional bank deposits. The tokenised version of these funds issues digital tokens on a blockchain that represent an investment in the fund, with promises of lower investment thresholds and faster settlements.
Several major US fund managers launched money market tokens last year, targeting crypto traders with a low-risk product that offers higher returns than stablecoins. BlackRock (BLK), the world’s largest asset manager, in March last year launched the BUIDL money market token for professional investors.
“What we see is global investors deploying capital on-chain typically have a lot of choices when it comes to risk assets, but when it comes to … decreasing the risk of their on-chain investment opportunities, all of a sudden these opportunities become quite limited,” OSL executive director Gary Tiu said during a joint media briefing.
ChinaAMC plans to expand the availability of its tokenised money market fund to more brokerages and virtual asset trading platforms, enabling 24/7 trading in the future, said Thomas Zhu, head of digital assets and family office business at ChinaAMC.
