Allianz soft closes onshore RMB fund ‘within days’ of launch

Allianz Global Investors has soft closed its Renminbi Fixed Income Onshore bond fund just weeks after it was launched, the asset management company has revealed.

The Luxembourg-domiciled Allianz Renminbi Fixed Income Onshore fund was launched with little fanfare on January 31 for fund manager Helen Lam.

It was intended as a ‘first of its kind’ Chinese RMB funds, which allowed investors access to the Onshore Renminbi (CNY) market and direct investment into Chinese government bonds.

This is while a large number of other RMB-based funds invest solely in the Offshore Renminbi (CNH) market, which is largely coordinated through Hong Kong.

However, the demand for renminbi-denominated debt has caused Allianz GI to take moves to stem flows into the fund shortly into its operational life. The latest available data put the fund's asset under management at €33.9 million as of the end of February.

Commenting on the soft close, a spokesperson for Allianz GI said: ‘The demand from investors was such that the fund was soft closed in early February, within days of its opening on 31 January 2013 as assets met the quota allowed by the Mainland China regulators.’

The launch of the Onshore RMB fund added to the firm’s presence in the Chinese fixed income market. It sits alongside the company’s existing Allianz Renminbi Fixed Income (Offshore) and Allianz Renminbi Currency funds.

The Offshore fund, which was launched in June 2011, was soft-closed in August 2011 following similar strong investor demand which saw it receive €450 million of inflows within two months. It was reopened in August of last year.