OCBC launches Asian emerging markets fund

OCBC launches Asian emerging markets fund

SINGAPORE (Reuter): OCBC Asset Management Ltd, a unit of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, launched yesterday its Asia Emerging Markets Index Fund (AEMIF).

The fund is a joint venture with U.S. investment group Alliance Capital Management and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the world bank group.

Elizabeth Sam, chairman of OCBC Asset Management and deputy president of OCBC Bank, told a news conference the fund aimed to raise between US$50 million and US$100 million, principally from institutions, by the end of 1996.

Sam did not give a final deadline for subscriptions.

The AEMIF is an umbrella structure of 11 individual funds, comprising an index portfolio which invests in 10 emerging Asian market indices in China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand.

The minimum initial subscription to each fund is US$300,000. Subsequent investments must be made in multiples of US$50,000. Initial commitments of US$5 million each had been made by IFC and OCBC Asset Management, Sam said.

The Dublin-listed fund is the third in a series of emerging markets indexes sponsored by the IFC.