The latest news in funds and investments from across Asia.

Invesco
Invesco, the US-based investment house, has launched a fixed-maturity offering for Hong Kong retail clients, the third such rollout in the jurisdiction this year.
The latest offering is called the Invesco Asian Bond Fixed Maturity Fund 2022.

The fund aims to provide investors with exposure to a “buy-and-monitor” portfolio of dollar-denominated Asian fixed income instruments with active risk monitoring, primarily investing in investment grade fixed income instruments over a fixed investment period of 2.5 years from the close of the initial offering period up to the fund’s stated maturity date. 

The firm said that its fund will invest primarily in Asian fixed income markets, including all countries in Asia Pacific excluding Japan but including Australia and New Zealand.

“The successful launches of our last two fixed maturity products in Hong Kong earlier this year reflect a clear demand from retail investors for investment solutions that hedge against market volatility and interest rate risk while offering stable income,” Clarence Lee, director, head of intermediary sales, Hong Kong at Invesco, said. 

The fund is open for subscription from 14 October 2019 to 25 October 2019 and will be closed to subsequent subscriptions after the initial offer period. It is expected to begin investing on 28 October 2019.

“Bolstered by strong demand from Asian investors for regionally-issued bonds, the Asian US dollar bond market has grown rapidly in recent years and is now worth over $1 trillion, which is about the same size as major markets such as US bank loans and high yield bonds,” Ken Hu, chief investment officer, fixed income, Asia Pacific at Invesco, said. 

“Asian US dollar bonds offer attractive yields and credit spreads compared with other major credit markets, while high yield bonds from Asian issuers have lower historical default rates than those of other high yield bonds. We also expect monetary and fiscal policies to remain accommodative across key Asian markets, including China, Korea, India and Southeast Asia, which may continue to support yields in both onshore and offshore markets,” Hu said. 

HSBC
HSBC Life Singapore has launched a solution delivering a regular stream of monthly income when the insured person reaches retirement, as well as additional coverage should they be diagnosed with age-related conditions and chronic diseases. 

Among features of the offering are options to retire at age 55, 60 or 65 and receive pay-outs for a period of 10, 15 or 20 years, or up to age 99. There is also a limited premium payment – a single premium or short premium payment period of 5 or 10 years.

The offering comes at a time when Singapore is wrestling with issues arising from an ageing population. In 2018, almost 15 per cent of Singaporeans were aged 65 and above and the number is expected to grow to 24 per cent by 2030.  

“HSBC Life Retirement Income covers age-related conditions such as loss of mobility and illnesses including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and dementia. Senior adults diagnosed with such conditions and illnesses are on the rise so it is critical they have adequate financial support to fund for their long-term care,” Carlos Vazquez, chief executive of HSBC Life Singapore, said.

This publication has examined issues involvng critical illness cover and the state of this market in Singapore and Southeast Asia .