LOCAL INVESTORS GET OPPORTUNITY TO TAP INTO CHINA A-SHARE MARKET

KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 (Bernama) -- HwangDBS Investment Management Bhd and
Asian Islamic Investment Management Sdn Bhd (AIIMAN) are offering Malaysian
investors, an opportunity to tap into the highly restrictive and lucrative,
China A-Share Market.

This is through the HwangDBS AIIMAN A20 China Access Fund (A20), launched
here Friday.

It is an open-ended wholesale fund and will invest a maximum 99.8 per cent
of net asset value in Syariah-compliant Investment Certificates, that provide
the economic performance of the referenced underlying targeted A-shares.

HwangDBS Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Teng Chee Wai said the denominated
US dollar fund is mainly targeted towards domestic and offshore investors.

"We will introduce it in Malaysia first and later, in Singapore, Brunei,
Hong Kong as well as the Middle East, especially Dubai," he told reporters after
the official launch of the A20.

He said both companies had been working hard over the past few months to
secure business partnerships with established financial institutions in the
targeted countries.

The minimum initial and additional investment is US$10,000 with an approved
fund size of 100 million units.

The A20 will close at US$30 million and is offered on a first-come-first
served basis.

AIIMAN CEO Nor' Azamin Salleh said the fund is the first of its kind in
Malaysia to offer a more direct access into the A-Share market.

"It is also the first Syariah-compliant fund in the global market that
invests in the same.

"It is structured to be direct, simple and optimal. So, investors can obtain
meaningful exposure into China's unique domestic equities and potential
appreciation of the renminbi.

"It is also an investment opportunity previously not available in Malaysia,"
he explained.

He said that through the AIIMAN and HwangDBS ties with its parent company,
DBS Asset Management Ltd, the A20 will be able to invest in certificates via
five reputable licensed Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) holders.

The composition of the fund will essentially consist of the top 20 China
A-shares listed on both the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges in terms of
market capitalisation and Shariah compliance, equally weighted in terms of the
nominal amount of shares.

For example, the A20 will be invested in heavyweight stocks like China's
largest listed hydropower company, China Yangtze Power Co. Ltd, automaker SAIC
Motor Corporation and Daqin Railway Co. Ltd.

China's equity market is supported and driven by the tremendous trapped
domestic liquidity and sheer growth of its economy.

In a short span of two years, China's market capitalisation grew almost
ten-fold to 32.5 trillion renminbi in 2007 from only three trillion in 2005.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), China's gross domestic
product (GDP) per capita has grown extensively over the last decade, rising up
to 22,000 renminbi in 2008 from 7,000 renminbi in 2000.

The figure is expected to increase to 43,000 renminbi by 2014.
-- BERNAMA