SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Scottish asset manager Baillie Gifford said Wednesday it had registered its new wholly-owned China unit to manage non-retail funds, becoming the latest foreign manager to target domestic investors in the world’s second-largest economy.

Baillie Gifford has registered Baillie Gifford Investment Management (Shanghai) Limited as a private securities fund manager with the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC), it said in a statement.

It had also received a private fund manager (PFM) licence, which allows it to invest in China’s financial markets on behalf of Chinese institutions and affluent investors.

Amy Wang, Baillie Gifford’s head of China, said the company also had qualifications to conduct business under China’s Qualified Domestic Limited Partnership (QDLP) programme, and would consider other opportunities as China’s market opens.

“It’s natural for a global company to operate a QDLP fund in China given that we are very experienced managing global assets,” Wang told Reuters in an interview.

The QDLP programme allows foreign asset managers to raise yuan funds from institutional and high-net-worth individuals for overseas investments.

Wang said Baillie Gifford would use its $503.1 million Long Term Global Growth Fund as the basis for its QDLP fund.

Baillie Gifford also plans to apply for an investment advisory licence, which would give them access to a broader range of institutions, Wang said.

Edinburgh-based Baillie Gifford manages $324 billion in assets, including more than $50 billion invested in Chinese companies.

As of March 2020, 26 foreign firms had recived PFM licences for wholly-owned or joint-venture businesses in China, according to AMAC.

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