The initiative is a joint venture between the Irish Funds Industry Association (IFIA) and IDA Ireland, the Irish government’s inward investment agency.
An Irish funds industry delegation led by former Taoiseach John Bruton, now president of Ireland’s Dublin-based financial centre, is this week in Asia unveiling the two offices, accompanied by funds industry and advisory industry representatives.
As part of the tour, the IFIA this morning held a funds industry briefing seminar at the Tokyo Conrad Hotel.
Further briefing seminars as well as meetings with local authorities and agencies are scheduled over the next few days, the IFIA said, noting that "close to 1,000 people" were expected to be met by the Irish delegates during their trip, which in addition to Singapore and Tokyo also includes a stop in Kuala Lumpur.
In a statement, the IFIA said the two new offices would mean that the Irish funds industry will now have representatives on the ground in Tokyo and Singapore for the first time.
US offices opened earlier
The IFIA opened representative offices in June in Chicago, Boston, Atlanta and London, when the new partnership with IDA Ireland was first revealed.
Other offices throughout the world are also planned, the IFIA said.
The opening of the offices by the Irish funds industry and government comes as other European funds centres, such as Jersey, Guernsey and Luxembourg, have also targeted Asian investors with representative offices. Jersey opened its Hong Kong office in May 2009, while Guernsey opened an office in Shanghai in 2008. Luxembourg opened an office in Hong Kong last September.
IFIA chairman Ken Owens said that the offices were being opened because Asia was “a crucial market for Ireland, and we believe we can offer the solutions and services required by managers and promoters from the region”.
“The opening of these new representative offices in association with the IDA will play an important role in our efforts to expand business in Asia,” he added.
Owens noted that recent data showed that Ireland was favoured by managers both for UCITS funds and alternative investments during 2011, and that this was "not down to luck".
Gary Palmer, IFIA chief executive and one of those on the trip to Asia, said the opening of the new offices "demonstrates industry and government agencies are working hand in hand to promote Ireland as the leading domicile for internationally-distributed investment funds".
Industry bucks downturn
Recent figures show Ireland’s funds industry is bucking the global economic downturn which has also damaged Ireland’s economy, particularly its banks. In particular, funds in the Qualifying Investor Fund (QIF) and Ucits sectors are thriving, with the number of QIFs at an all-time high of 1,273, and assets under management also at a peak, of €159bn.
On the retail side, the IFIA noted, citing recent EFAMA data, Irish fund houses attracted the highest UCITS fund inflows of any domicile for the year so far, gains it said were "almost two and half times that of the next most successful domicile" in the UCITS funds arena.
