BlackRock Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink said in a statement, “China is taking significant steps in opening up its financial markets. We look forward to sharing our global investment expertise and offering more differentiated investment solutions to Chinese investors.

Last year, a trade deal was signed between Washington and Beijing which has let US banks and investment firms like JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs have a greater market presence and access in China. BlackRock’s approval by CSRC is the latest in line with such developments. Regarded as the world’s largest asset management company, BlackRock has assets worth more than $9 trillion under its management as of March and has made its China expansion plans a major priority.

Apart from BlackRock, several other global asset managers like Fidelity International, Neuberger Berman and Schroders have also applied to set up wholly-owned mutual fund businesses in China. BlackRock’s announcement to start its China mutual funds business comes after it received a license for a wealth management venture in China. The company also owns a minority stake in a mutual fund venture with the Bank of China.

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Venture capitalists including  Meituan-Dianping,  GaoRong, Source Code Capital, Softbank Asia, BAI, Redpoint, IDG Capital, Sequoia China and GSR Ventures participated in the funding. 

Opera CEO and OPay Chairman Yahui Zhou, said in a statement, “OPay will facilitate the people in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya  and other African countries with the best fintech ecosystem. We see ourselves as a key contributor to…helping local businesses…thrive from…digital business models.” 

It appears that the Opay’s  funding will transform Opera into a multi-service commercial internet platform in Africa. Opay seeks to create a strong presence in Africa’s fintech startup ecosystem. 

After its Series A funding, Opay scaled to 140,000 active agents and $10 million in daily transaction volume, according to the company data. 

Previously, Chinese investors interaction with African startups were relatively low. This year, they have pursued a number of African fintech startups such as Opay, PalmPay and Lori Systems to expand their presence. These startups have raised a combined $240 million from 15 different Chinese investors. 

In Africa, Nigeria has become the centre for fintech venture capital firms, especially with Chinese investors seeking startup presence on the continent. 

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Last year, Chinese companies significantly reduced foreign direct investments into the US by 83%, while in the European Union, the investments were down by 70%, a joint report by Baker McKenzie and the Rhodium observed.

The survey by McKenzie polled 600 executives in the Asia-Pacific. Of the respondents, 200 executives are based in Hong Kong or China. Nearly 63% of the executives based in Mainland China said they expect to boost international investment by more than 10% in the next few years. Additionally, 88% of respondents across all firms said they are keen on international expansion including acquisitions, investments or listings, over the next two years.

According to Munir Abdul Aziz, partner at Baker McKenzie Kuala Lumpur, Southeast Asia is poised to become the world’s fourth largest economy by 2030, and the multinational corporations are making Southeast Asia an investment destination  to boost their global ambitions. However, the region appears favourable to Japanese, German, the UK and the US companies more than Chinese companies, a study published by Brunswick Group, said on Monday.

The McKenzie survey also found that China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is imperative to several Hong Kong and Chinese companies. Baker McKenzie M&A partner Bee Chun Boo said: “Southeast Asia remains a key region for [belt and road] investments, with infrastructure and power investments leading the way, followed by manufacturing, financial services and ecommerce. [Belt and road] investment is expected to be active over the next one to two years, covering more jurisdictions and more industries.”

However, some Chinese companies may exit from the BRI, he added. With that, Martin David, Asia-Pacific head of Baker McKenzie’s projects group explained that by 2030 the BRI project will not only be funded by Chinese companies, but also by private capital, multilateral banks, export credit agencies, and foreign lenders.

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Majida Ali Rashid, assistant director-general at the Dubai Land Department, said: “Our real estate market is receiving heightened interest from Chinese investors, with Dubai becoming a favorite property destination.” There will be more shows planned end of this year and the next in Mumbai, Moscow and London.

Chinese have shown significant interest in Dubai real estate despite warnings about the country’s booming domestic property market in some cities. Bloomberg data reports that prices of new-homes in China has increased quickly in July, climbing 1.2% from the previous month.

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The Ruler of Ajman welcomed the Chinese delegates, inclusive of businessmen, merchants, economists, investors and industry specialists from the Hunan Province in China. Among the several dignitaries were Dr Majid bin Saeed Al Nuaimi – the Chairman of the Ajman Ruler’s Court, Hamad Rashid Al Nuaimi – the Director of the Ajaman Ruler’s Court, and Abdullah Al Muwaiji – the Chairman of the Ajman Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Chinese delegates were led by He Baoziang, the Deputy Governor of the Hunan Province, who was assisted by Liu Jian who is the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in the UAE. In the meeting they discussed a number of proposals, future projects and studies on implementing joint projects in Ajman between Emirati and Chinese businessmen.

His Highness, Sheikh Humaid stated that UAE has been so far successful in all their investment processes, and this has opened wider prospects for investors owing to the policy of economic openness embraced by the nation, by promoting the private sector.

In the meeting He Baoxiang mentioned that they participated in the FBR Ajman to strengthen and develop economic, commercial and industrial relations between Ajman and Hunan.

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