Eastspring Investments, the Asian investment management unit of insurer Prudential, has launched its wholly foreign owned enterprise (WFOE) in Shanghai, China.

The news comes on the same week as a shake-up of the wealth and asset management industry in China. The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) has allowed China wealth management subsidiaries of domestic commercial banks to invest directly in Chinese shares for the first time.

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Eastspring Investment’s new location will serve as an investment and distribution base, targeting HNWIs and institutional investors in China.

Through the office, global investors will gain access to direct investments in China while Chinese investors will gain exposure to Eastspring’s offshore funds.

The office presently has a headcount of 11, of which five are investment professionals. Plans are on to increase the headcount to 20 by the end of next year.

Eastspring CEO Guy Strapp said: “As a leading Asia-based asset manager, China represents a significant growth opportunity for us. By 2021, it is estimated that around 50% of the $4.8 trillion of assets managed in Asia will be from China, and that these assets, at $2.3 trillion, will be almost double those managed in 2016.

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“This impressive growth in the investment industry is being propelled by China’s powerful economic expansion and the increasing participation by both retail and institutional investors. Early next year we will be launching a growth equity China A-share strategy that will be distributed by domestic securities firms and third-party wealth managers.”

Eastspring also serves China’s retail market through a joint venture partnership called CITIC-Prudential Fund Management Company.

In October 2018, Eastspring secured a private fund management licence from the Asset Management Association of China. The move enabled the company to offer onshore investment products to the country’s institutional investors and HNWIs.

Earlier this year, the company set up its investment management wholly-foreign owned enterprise (IM WFOE) in Shanghai.