China Life Trust and Haitong AM announce MPF strategic cooperation

Haitong International Investment Managers and China Life Trustees announced on 27 October a strategic cooperation intent in the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) field, with concrete plans still to be implemented and subject to regulatory approval. China Life Trustees said taking on the complete trusteeship of an external MPF scheme marks a breakthrough that takes its overall trustee assets under management into a new stage.

Model: deep integration of trusteeship and investment management

Haitong International Investment Managers is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Haitong International Securities Group, which in turn is a wholly-owned overseas subsidiary of Guotai Haitong Securities; China Life Trustees is wholly owned by China Life Insurance (Overseas). Under the announcement, the two will explore an integrated “trusteeship plus investment management” model, combining digitalisation trends with investment research capabilities to scale up consolidated operations, and have established a regular working mechanism. Both parties said they will strictly comply with regulatory requirements and update the market on progress in due course.

China Life Trustees: among Hong Kong’s first MPF trustees

According to the MPFA’s register of approved trustees, China Life Trustees was approved on 30 October 1999 and is one of Hong Kong’s first MPF approved trustees, with more than three decades in the city’s retirement market. It currently operates the China Life MPF Master Trust Scheme. The company said the external trusteeship takeover is a major breakthrough in market-based takeover and scaled expansion of its overseas trust business.

A consolidation signal in the eMPF era

Haitong International said in the announcement that the eMPF platform is accelerating the industry’s move towards digitalisation, consolidation and higher-quality collaboration. Per etnet data, Hong Kong currently has 14 MPF providers; Haitong International and China Life each operate one MPF scheme. A full-scheme trusteeship takeover at this level is uncommon, and the market will watch what such consolidation means for industry concentration and the provider landscape.

Details pending approval

The announcement did not disclose the scheme involved, asset sizes or a timetable, and the cooperation plans require further implementation and regulatory approval. Scheme members can follow further announcements from both parties and the progress of regulatory clearance to understand any practical impact on their accounts if trusteeship arrangements change.