Who grumbles in the US about BlackRock’s business in China
Soros criticized BlackRock's choice to increase investment in China, judging it risky for US customers and security. Here's what happens
BlackRock – the world's largest investment firm , headquartered in New York – raised 6.6 billion yuan (about $ 1 billion) for its first mutual fund in China.
FUNDRAISING TERMINATED BEFORE THE EXPECTED
The local division of BlackRock, based in Shanghai, finished the fundraising before the set day (September 10) even without having reached the expected figure of 8 billion yuan, with the aim of proceeding more quickly with the investments: an anonymous source told the Bloomberg agency.
The fund, called China New Horizon Mixed Securities Investment Fund, was launched on August 30th.
THE COMMENT OF BLACKROCK
BlackRock said its fund has attracted over 111,000 investors and said – through Rachel Lord, head of the company's Asia Pacific division – “very proud to have achieved this milestone for our asset management business. funds in China ".
WHO IS THROATING THE CHINESE MARKET
The Chinese market for mutual funds is worth 3.6 trillion and is watched with interest by many other companies competing with BlackRock, which has been operating in the country for more than fifteen years.
Fidelity International, for example, is proceeding with the creation of a Chinese branch dedicated to mutual funds. Neuberger Berman, Schroders and VanEck also applied to the authorities to open Chinese divisions.
The Chinese market is as rich as it is crowded, with over 150 players: local ones dominate.
In the first eight months of 2021, the new Chinese mutual funds raised more than 2 trillion yuan: it is already the second highest value ever, moreover close to last year's record with 3100 billion yuan. Forecasts say it will reach 60,000 yuan (about 87,000 dollars) within a decade.
THE CRITICISM OF SOROS
The moves by BlackRock and other foreign investment management firms to enter China have been heavily criticized by George Soros, the Hungarian naturalized US entrepreneur and founder of Soros Fund Management.
In a commentary article in the Wall Street Journal , Soros writes that investing billions of dollars in China right now is "a tragic mistake" that will result in economic losses for BlackRock's customers and "more importantly, it will harm national security interests. of the United States and other democracies ”.
BlackRock recently called on investors to no longer view China as an emerging market and to expand – to triple it – their exposure to the country.
According to Soros, BlackRock has drawn a line of distinction between private and state-owned companies that does not reflect the reality in China, suggesting that the Beijing government may meddle in the company's affairs.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/chi-borbotta-negli-usa-per-gli-affari-di-blackrock-in-cina/ on Wed, 08 Sep 2021 09:59:00 +0000.