BlackRock chief ranks China among biggest opportunities

[HONG KONG] BlackRock chief executive officer Larry Fink said China remains one of the firm's top regions for growth despite uncertainties brought on by trade tensions with the US and the virus outbreak.

"We are here to work with China," Mr Fink said via video conference at the Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai on Thursday. "We firmly believe China will be one of the biggest opportunities for BlackRock."

The company is expanding in China to tap one of the fastest-growing wealth markets. China's trillion dollar industry opened further in April, luring investment from companies including BlackRock, Vanguard Group and JPMorgan Chase & Co. While the further liberalisation of the money management sector in China has been overshadowed by the coronavirus crisis, wealth firms are nonetheless laying out plans to tap a market in which retail funds alone could reach US$3.4 trillion in three years, says Deloitte.

Mr Fink added he was hopeful that the US and China would continue to develop their relationship.

"Despite the noise in the markets now, I am optimistic that the US-China relationship can continue to develop for the whole world in a positive manner," Mr Fink said.

He also sees signs that China and the rest of the world are slowly recovering from virus-induced slowdowns.

"Encouraging signs are emerging," Mr Fink said. "As dramatic as this has been, I do believe the global economy will stabilise and recover steadily."

BlackRock, with US$6.5 trillion in assets, is attempting to crack the China market in multiple ways. Led in the region by Geraldine Buckingham in Hong Kong, the company is applying for licenses to set up wholly-owned mutual fund firms in China, people familiar have said. That's in addition to holding a 16.5 per cent stake in a joint venture with Bank of China.

The New York-based firm is also in talks to set up a joint venture with Singapore fund Temasek Holdings and China Construction Bank Corp's wealth management subsidiary to tap the lenders' distribution channels, according to a person familiar with the matter.

BLOOMBERG