According to current news, among the first three institutions that announced that their Bitcoin Ethereum spot ETFs were approved by the Hong Kong SFC, namely Harvest Global ETF, China Asset Management and Bosera Asset Management, Harvest Global ETF and China Asset Management cooperated with OSL on the custody and trading of virtual assets, while Bosera Asset Management chose to cooperate with Hashkey. The three leading funds all have strong foundations and have made comprehensive layouts and sufficient preparations in advance.
The progress of the approval of the Bitcoin spot ETF in Hong Kong is undoubtedly the focus of the virtual asset market in Hong Kong today. In the US market, the market performance of the Bitcoin spot ETF has proved to the world that it is only a matter of time before Bitcoin is integrated into traditional finance. According to data, as of April 11, the total net asset value of the Bitcoin spot ETF has reached US$58.64 billion, the ETF net asset ratio has reached 4.27%, and the historical cumulative net inflow has reached US$12.49 billion. A series of favorable news announced recently prove that the relevant departments and institutions in Hong Kong are stepping up the approval process to maintain their global regulatory advantages.
On April 15, following Harvest Global’s official announcement of its Bitcoin spot ETF application last week, China Asset Management (Hong Kong), which had not responded to the application for Hong Kong’s Bitcoin spot ETF, posted on its official microblog that it had obtained approval from the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission to provide virtual asset management services to investors, and now plans to issue ETF products that can invest in Bitcoin spot and Ethereum spot. China Asset Management (Hong Kong) and its partner OSL Digital Securities Co., Ltd. and custodian BOC International Prudential Trust Co., Ltd. are conducting research and deployment on this.
At the same time, OSL Group (863.HK) announced that its digital asset trading platform "OSL Digital Securities Co., Ltd." has become the first virtual asset trading platform and custody partner of two fund companies, China Asset Management and Harvest Global Investors.
China Asset Management Co., Ltd. is one of the earliest national fund management companies in China. It was established on April 9, 1998 and is headquartered in Beijing. With public funds and institutional businesses as its core, it has formed a diversified asset management platform, including subsidiaries such as China Asset Management Hong Kong, China Capital, and China Wealth.
As of the end of 2023, China Asset Management's assets under management reached RMB 1.82 trillion, or approximately US$250 billion, including the sum of public funds, institutions, and international business asset management; among them, the scale of public fund management was RMB 1.32 trillion, while the scale of institutional and international business asset management was RMB 505.92 billion.
On November 20, 2023, China Asset Management Hong Kong announced through its official WeChat account that it had signed a memorandum of cooperation with HashKey Exchange, a licensed retail virtual asset exchange in Hong Kong, and Hamsa, a physical asset tokenization company, to explore Web3 innovation in Hong Kong's asset management industry. This move is seen as a positive signal that China Asset Management will make a Hong Kong Bitcoin spot ETF; and China Asset Management's successful approval of the No. 9 license upgrade to manage a portfolio 100% invested in virtual assets further confirms this speculation.
Harvest Global Asset Management Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Harvest Fund Management Co., Ltd., was established in 2008. In recent years, it has focused on the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, and is committed to incorporating ESG considerations into investment strategies, and has achieved corresponding results.
As of 2023, Harvest Global will manage more than US$200 billion in assets, generate more than US$30 billion in returns from public funds, and have an investment research team of more than 300 people. As Hong Kong's virtual asset regulations continue to take effect, Harvest Global has responded positively and joined the wave of innovators.
As early as December 28, 2023, Harvest Global successfully completed the issuance of Hong Kong's first tokenized fund. The fund completed the filing with Hong Kong regulators in November 2023. The fund is only for professional investors and invests in high-rated US bonds. Harvest Global Asset Management is the fund manager, and Meta Lab HK provides a tokenization solution.
On April 10, 2024, according to the official website of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Harvest International successfully completed the upgrade of its virtual asset license No. 9 and completed regulatory preparations. Harvest International is one step closer to the successful issuance of a Bitcoin spot ETF.
Strong capital is the advantage of Harvest Fund, and the experience of issuing tokenized funds can also be a powerful weapon. Not only in Hong Kong, "tokenization" has gradually become a trend of global financial evolution. Whether Harvest International will make tokenization innovations in the issuance of Hong Kong Bitcoin spot ETF has also become one of the biggest highlights of Harvest.
Bosera Fund Management Co., Ltd. was established on July 13, 1998. It is one of the first five fund management companies established in mainland China. Headquartered in Shenzhen, it also has three subsidiaries: Bosera Fund (International) Co., Ltd., Bosera Capital Management Co., Ltd. and Bosera Wealth Fund Sales Co., Ltd. The company's business scope includes fund raising, fund sales, asset management and other businesses permitted by the China Securities Regulatory Commission.
As of December 31, 2023, Bosera Asset Management Co., Ltd. manages a total of 367 public funds, and is entrusted by the National Council for Social Security Fund to manage part of the social security funds, as well as a number of enterprise annuities, occupational annuities and specific accounts, with a total asset size of more than RMB 1,466.8 billion, or approximately US$200 billion. Excluding money market funds, Bosera Asset Management's total public asset management size exceeds RMB 547.8 billion, with cumulative dividends exceeding RMB 193.6 billion.
On April 6, 2024, Hong Kong asset management company Bosera International and HashKey Capital, an asset management company under the financial technology group HashKey Group, signed a strategic cooperation agreement. In the future, the two parties will explore the field of compliant financial products and work together to combine Web3 and traditional finance. The cooperation will mainly focus on virtual asset spot ETFs, blockchain technology, financial technology and other fields.
Bitcoin spot ETF and Ethereum spot ETF are seen as innovative investment tools for large amounts of global funds and investors to flow into the digital asset market. They greatly simplify the investment process for investors in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and increase liquidity, making it easier for investors to enter the digital asset market.
