Jardine Fleming shuts RI fund operations

Jardine Fleming shuts RI fund operations

HONG KONG (Reuters): Jardine Fleming has closed its domestic
fund management operations in Indonesia and has trimmed back its
unit trust development team in Malaysia.

David Dodwell, director of group corporate communications,
said the Indonesian domestic fund management operation had
employed five. Jardine Fleming has about 150 people in Indonesia
involved in securities broking and research, capital markets and
corporate finance, and mergers and acquisitions.

"All we have closed down is domestic retail fund management
operations which would be targeted at encouraging domestic savers
to put their savings into unit trusts," said Dodwell.

"Of course the decimation of wealth in Indonesia has put the
prospect of getting critical mass there, the agenda for that is
several years to come."

In Malaysia, Dodwell said Jardine Fleming was trimming back
its fund management plans. "We have categorically not closed down
the fund management operation," he said.

"We have put on ice our plans to build strongly the unit trust
business but our pension fund and institutional fund management
businesses continue to grow and remain very important to us," he
said.

Jardine Fleming has about 200 people in Malaysia, 18 of whom
were in the unit trust development team.

"That team has been trimmed to eight but quite categorically
the other areas of activity -- the institutional fund management
activity, the M&A corporate advisory work and broking and
research areas -- remain strong," said Dodwell.