Hong Kong-based regional trade organisation expands its Asian coverage with the launch of a new asset management group.

ASIFMA, the Hong Kong-headquartered regional trade association, is launching a new asset management group that it hopes to act as a "collective voice of the asset management industry in the region," it revealed in a statement.

The ASIFMA Asset Management Group, the newly-created entity, will be responsible for advocating the interests for Asia asset managers at local, regional and global levels, and promoting the development of open capital markets in the region. It will also build best practices and uniform standards for the industry.

"The addition of AAMG is a major element to our expansion over the past 18 months to encompass equities, compliance, post-trade and asset management, in addition to our original division of fixed income. We are now a 'full service' financial association in terms of covering both buy and sell side," said Mark Austen, chief executive of ASIFMA.

AAMG is led by industry veteran Eugenie Shen, the former managing director and chief legal officer of PineBridge Investments in Asia ex-Japan. She brings over 30 years of experience to this role. She will be supported initially by 15 members comprising many of the region's leading asset managers. Some members of the steering committee include UBS Global Asset Management group managing director and Asia-Pacific head Kai Sotorp as chairman, and AllianceBernstein CEO for Asia ex-Japan Ajai Kaul as vice chairman.