Cha herself is unavailable for comment. The SFC public relations office refuses to comment and her secretary says she is on leave. But consultants and fund managers in Hong Kong say they welcome the move and are anxious to get it confirmed.
Cha is expected to play a constructive role in developing an open-ended mutual funds industry on the mainland, one reason why international fund managers are keen to see her move to Beijing. The CSRC is deep in the process of building a domestic mutual funds industry, and has outlined draft legislation to allow foreigners to take stakes in joint ventures with local securities and asset management companies to launch mutual funds once...