Morgan Stanley is said to revive annual China hedge-fund event

[HONG KONG] Morgan Stanley is reviving after a two-year absence an annual event in China that showcases Asia-focused hedge funds to potential investors, said people with knowledge of the matter.

The bank plans to hold this year's Asian hedge-fund capital introductions forum in Shanghai in June, said the people, who asked not to be identified because details of the event are still being discussed. It was last held in the country that's home to Asia's biggest stock market in 2012.

The New York-based bank began hosting the event in China in 2005, and until 2012 it took place in Shanghai in most years. It was moved to Beijing one year and to Hong Kong another.

About 60 Asia-focused hedge funds typically presented at the Morgan Stanley China conference before 2013, a person with knowledge of the matter said at the time.

Harriet Ngan, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman for Morgan Stanley, declined to comment.

The bank delayed the 2013 meeting and relocated it to New York, citing international concern about the outbreak of a new strain of bird flu. It hosted a similar event last year in Chicago and has held smaller forums in its Hong Kong office since 2013.

Morgan Stanley was the largest prime broker in the region by the total number of mandates after Goldman Sachs Group Inc, according to a 2014 survey by trade journal AsiaHedge, published by London-based Hedge Fund Intelligence. It was the biggest after Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse Group AG by estimated share of hedge-fund assets, the survey showed.

Prime brokers also provide services including lending securities and cash, settling trades, and giving hedge funds advice on regulations.

BLOOMBERG