​On the 27th of November, ICBC (Europe) S.A. (hereafter referred to as “ICBC (Europe)”) has been granted a RQFII quota of RMB 4bn by the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) authorities (out of the RMB 50bn received by the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg as a RQFII jurisdiction last April).

ICBC (Europe) is the first Luxembourg licensed RQFII to receive such a substantial RQFII quota and Arendt & Medernach’s Luxembourg and Hong Kong offices are thrilled to participate alongside ICBC (Europe) in the preparation of a line of RQFII products within the ICBC (Europe) UCITS platform, making use of those new possibilities.

This “premiere” will also involve to a certain extent the use of a RQFII delegation model recently clarified in a"frequently asked questions" document issued by the ALFI jointly with LfF, the elaboration of which the firm as well as ICBC (Europe) participated in and which both leading market players are delighted to put in practice.

For this project, ICBC (Europe) has been supported by Arendt & Medernach’s Luxembourg and Hong Kong teams which already assisted ICBC (Europe) for the launch of ICBC (Europe)’s proprietary UCITS and the implementation of RQFII strategies making use of the latest regulatory developments in terms of UCITS eligible assets and markets, such as the approval of the China Interbank Bonds Market (CIBM) as acceptable eligible market, as confirmed by the CSSF in their2014 Annual report.

Michele Eisenhuth, Investment Fund Partner at Arendt said, “ICBC (Europe) and Arendt & Medernach have, together, paved the way for the use of PRC driven strategies in UCITS and we are glad to see that ICBC (Europe) has received such a significant portion of the initial Luxembourg RQFII quota and will be using the full capabilities of Luxembourg to continue innovate and bridge the European and Chinese markets”.

Stephane Karolczuk, Head of Arendt’s Hong Kong Office, is also welcoming this news: “ICBC (Europe) has proven being a pioneer in connecting investors to the PRC and their position in the PRC as well as in Europe makes them a key player on the market and we are proud to have them in Luxembourg and as a long term business partner. This large RQFII RMB 4bn quota will further position ICBC (Europe), and Luxembourg, on the RMB market and reinforce the role of Luxembourg as leading RMB financial centre.”