Banque Degroof Luxembourg's subsidiary, Degroof Asset Management (HK), has been approved by the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong and granted a type 9 (asset management) license.

"This strategic move reinforces our commitment towards Hong Kong and the Asian region, after having opened a representative office in Hong Kong back in 2011", says Geert De Bruyne, managing director of Banque Degroof Luxembourg. "The representative office allowed us to develop closer ties with industry practitioners and lead business development efforts in Asia", added Geert.

Degroof Asset Management (HK) Limite will provide asset management services to investment funds, capitalizing on the expertise developed in Luxembourg over the last 10 years within its AIFM / UCITS management company, Degroof Gestion Institutionnelle- Luxembourg, in terms of asset management, risk management, investment compliance monitoring and distribution oversight.

"Risk management and investment compliance monitoring are part of our DNA in Luxembourg, following the implementation of the UCITS and AIFM directives. Providing that value-added service to Asian managers in their time zone, for investment funds domiciled in Luxembourg or elsewhere, while leveraging on the expertise and the technology developed in Luxembourg, is one of our key objectives", says John Pauly, member of the executive committee of Banque Degroof Luxembourg, in charge of investment funds services.

"In today's challenging regulatory environment, having proper operational and fund governance support in place allows fund managers to focus on their investment strategies and also gives immense comfort to investors" emphasizes Jean-Luc Neyens, chairman of Degroof Asset Management (HK).

Heading Degroof Asset Management (HK) is Michael Stockford, chief executive officer, who brings over 30 years of experience in the banking and asset management industry, of which more than 20 years were spent in Hong Kong.