Brown Brothers Harriman is launching its trust company in Hong Kong, which extends its full-service offering for global asset managers looking to establish Hong Kong-domiciled funds, including ETFs, to a new area, BBH announced Tuesday.
BBH has been a trustee and depositary in Ireland, Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands for more than 25 years.
BBH’s announcement follows the 2015 launch of China’s Mutual Recognition of Funds (MRF), a cross-border initiative that opens a new channel for mutual fund investment into and out of Mainland China, BBH says.
“Since the launch of MRF, global fund sponsors have the potential to reach investors in Mainland China through Hong Kong-domiciled funds,” says Scott McLaren, head of BBH Hong Kong. “As Hong Kong-domiciled funds evolve from a domestic focus to a cross-border character, globally-active fund managers in particular will require new capability sets and consistent and coordinated practices across fund domiciles.”
Gabriel Cheung has been appointed to lead the Hong Kong Trustee business. Cheung joined BBH in January from HSBC Institutional Trust Services, where he served as senior manager of trustee and fiduciary services.