Why Beijing is targeting fund reforms at foreign houses

It may seem hard to countenance, but China’s asset management industry is just 21 years old.  Before 1998, no licenced asset managers existed. Institutions and the public deposited most of their money in banks, and investment fund products, if any, were unregulated, while the allocation of capital was inefficient.  But in recent years and particularly the past several months the country’s fund management industry has been awash with reform. The latest liberalisation came in July…