China Daily on CSRC's New MMF Rules
China Daily wrote recently on new tweaks to Chinese money market fund oversight. The article, "Securities regulator picks 'major' money market funds," explains, "China's securities regulator recently identified a number of newly designated major money market fund products and has put them under enhanced oversight, as part of the country's efforts to anchor investors' expectations and promote the sound development of its capital market. The China Securities Regulatory Commission designated 13 such products as 'major' money market funds to comply with stricter regulatory requirements under rules jointly issued by the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, in February last year, the commission said in a statement." The piece says, "Money market funds with assets under management exceeding 200 billion yuan ($27.8 billion) or having more than 50 million individual investors, as stipulated in the rules, will be subject to evaluation for inclusion on the list. Money market funds from China's top three asset-management firms -- E Fund, China Asset and GF Fund, as well as from four other major money managers such as ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management and China Universal Asset Management -- are on the list, according to the statement. Money market funds have gained popularity among investors seeking safe, liquid investment options that offer competitive yields, said Yang Chengzhang, chief economist with Shenwan Hongyuan Securities." China Daily adds, "Going forward, the commission will conduct assessments of money market funds on a regular basis, so as to include those that meet the criteria for listing among the major money market funds as appropriate, and will publicize information in accordance with relevant regulations. Data from financial information provider Wind shows that, as of the end of last year, certain money market fund products from investment management firms such as Fullgoal Fund, CCB Investment and Ping An UOB Fund are on the verge of being included on the list based on either their asset volume or individual investor scale. The commission, along with the PBOC, will make joint efforts to strengthen the risk monitoring and daily supervision of key money market funds, aiming to promote a safer and more stable operation of money market funds while safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of fund shareholders." In related news, see the SeeNews brief, "Croatian regulator OKs Erste Money Market fund."
