APS to become a ‘China House’
APS Asset Management, a Singapore-based firm, has announced that it has undergone a major strategic review of its business, and will now proceed with a sole focus on China.
The firm, which was founded as a pan-Asia manager in 1995, according to the firm’s website, was one of the earliest offshore managers to establish a research presence in China in 2002. APS subsequently launched its first China A share fund two years later in 2004.
According to APS Asset Management (APS), the firm has recognised the increasing significance of China in both the country’s share of Asia’s GDP and equity market capitalisation. In accordance with this growth, APS’ client base has also shifted in tandem, meaning that the firm’s investment exposure in China exceeds 90% of AUM, as of February 2020.
The firm highlights that its first and foremost priority is generating sustainable alpha for its clients, and as such APS feels that its resources require a strong focus on China, where its clients’ exposure is.
APS has stated that it has made management changes to facilitate the focusing of Founder and Chief Investment Officer Wong Kok Hoi’s attentions onto China. SFA has also said that they have furthered this by concentrating all of its resources in only managing China mandates including Hong Kong, Taiwan and ADRs.
While APS have said that they recognise that the firm has generated significant alphas in other markets within Asia, they feel that our clients are best served by us focusing on generating the best returns as possible by devoting all our time and energy on our core market which is China.
APS has announced that they are, therefore, exiting the other Asian markets and would be returning funds to existing clients, as stated in a letter by the firm, and that the firm intends to “live, breathe and think China.”
APS added that the firm’s Client Relations team and Fund administrators will be reaching out to investors in non-China funds with details on the process of returning capital and options to transfer investments to one of our China strategies.
Closing the letter, APS quoted Napoleon, “China is a sleeping lion. Let her sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake the world.” China has not just woken but has risen. And the world has shook given the sheer scale and extraordinary speed of China’s rise across multiple dimensions – trade, technology, geopolitics and power.”
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