CIMB-Principal's China Fund Now 5 Times Its Initial Size

CIMB-Principal Asset Management Berhad has increased its CIMB-Principal Greater China Equity Fund to 1.5 billion units, the sixth increase since the fund’s launch in June 2007.

Chief Executive Datuk Noripah Kamso stated: “We are pleased that our CIMB-Principal Greater China Equity Fund has received such an overwhelming response from the public. We would like to thank our key distributing partners who have contributed to the fund’s success.

“The outlook for China remains positive with 2007 GDP growth at 11.5% and the economy projected to post double digit growth for the next 2 years. We understand the concerns that investors may have about the possibility of an overheating Chinese market. The Chinese government is aware of such concerns and is actively taking measures to prevent an asset bubble, as demonstrated by the country’s recent tightening of monetary policy and restriction of credit. With the launch of DII (Domestic Individual Investor scheme) delayed, the market has corrected to a more attractive valuation.”

The CIMB-Principal Greater China Equity Fund feeds into the award-winning Schroder ISF Greater China Fund. Stable long-term capital growth remains the fund’s main priority as it invests in blue chip, high dividend yield domestic stocks and is underweight on cyclical commodity stocks. The fund also offers diversification by investing in stocks from Hong Kong, Asia’s financial hub and Taiwan, where valuation remains attractive. The financial services sector, the top sector in the fund, is set to benefit from China’s rapid urbanization, which will strengthen loan growth and expand the wealth management business.

Noripah concluded, “We believe that the fund provides a very attractive and affordable opportunity for investors to access the rapidly growing economies of Greater China. Given the fund’s popularity with investors, we are confident that the additional units will receive an overwhelming response.”

The fund’s annual management fee is 1.8% of the net asset value of the fund, and the minimum investment is RM1,000.