Japan's Asset Design to launch Cambodian equities fund-INTERVIEW

Japan's Asset Design to launch Cambodian equities fund-INTERVIEW

• Asset Design plans to launch 1 bln yen Cambodian fund
• Asset Design is Japan equities hedge fund, holds $94 mln in assets
• Subscription begins later in July until mid-September

By Chikafumi Hodo

TOKYO, July 5 (Reuters) - Japanese fund manager Asset Design plans to launch a Cambodian equities fund in late 2011, targeting big returns after the Southeast Asian country launches a new stock exchange this month, an executive at the asset company said on Tuesday.

Asset Design expects the scale of the fund to eventually grow to about 1 billion yen ($12 million) and plans to run the fund for about 10 years, Max Takahashi, a director at Asset Design, told Reuters in an interview.

The initial size of the fund will be about 400-500 million yen around the time of the launch expected in November, Takahashi said.

The Cambodian fund will be aimed at luring Japanese investors who are seeking higher yields and looking to invest beyond recently popular investment destinations such as China, he said.

"Many have already invested in India, China and Vietnam. We wanted to be unique so we selected Cambodia after conducting research for two years," said Takahashi, who will be the manager of the fund.

Takahashi, who previously worked for companies including Sumitomo Trust and Banking, said he has visited Cambodia more than 20 times since 2009.

The asset company anticipates big economic growth in the country and its exchange would follow the launch of other bourses in the region, such as in Vietnam.

Asset Design, a Japanese equities-focused hedge fund founded in 2002, has been seeking to diversify its portfolios in emerging markets.

Asset Design has 7.6 billion yen ($94 million) in assets under management. Of the total, it runs two Japanese equities funds totalling 2.5 billion yen, and the rest involves advisory to pension funds and institutional investors.

The asset management company aims to market the Cambodian fund to Japanese high net worth individuals.

It plans to start subscriptions later this month until mid-September. It also plans to hold investor seminars in August and September, Takahashi said.

Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) is scheduled to launch on July 11, but there will be no companies listed on the exchange at the time of the launch.

Trading on the exchange has been delayed again until the end of the year because companies planning listings need more time to comply with regulations.

Asset Design hopes to double or triple its returns from the Cambodian fund shortly after the launch of the stock exchange, Takahashi said.

"We've seen in Vietnam and Laos that share prices surged in those market shortly after the launch. I expect the same to happen in Cambodia," Takahashi said.

"We want to invest a big chunk in the IPOs of these companies. We'll seek big capital gains shortly after trading begins in Cambodia," he said.

State-owned Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA), Telecom Cambodia and Sihanoukville Autonomous Port are the companies that are planning to conduct IPOs.

At least 10 other private companies want to list on the bourse, a Cambodian government official said. ($1 = 80.770 Japanese Yen) (Reporting by Chikafumi Hodo; Editing by Chris Gallagher)