Luxembourg is growing as an Islamic investment centre and is looking to promote Ucits products in Asia

Luxembourg enjoyed a successful decade in the 1990s, as Europe’s premier location for domiciling and operating cross-border mutual funds under the Ucits regulatory umbrella, now boasting 76 per cent of funds which can be distributed in at least three countries. The latest niche being carved out by the state’s product strategists is that of an Islamic funds centre.

An army of stockpickers is descending on Asia’s financial centres looking to profit from the region’s rapid growth. But what are the countries to look at, and which sectors deserve the most attention? Yuri Bender reports

As Chinese manufacturing becomes gradually priced out by Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh, Siew Hua Thio from Tantallon Capital expects increasing numbers of factories to move their production out of China. “New environmental regulations have also lifted the cost of doing business in China,” she says.

Despite a positive outlook for Asian economies, the region’s hedge funds are going through a tough patch. However Vision’s Jerry Wang is confident China will soon catch the alternatives bug, writes Yuri Bender.

Desmond Cheung, BlackRock

A rising global population, increased wealth in the developing world and the growing biofuels industry all demand increased agricultural output, which a number of new funds are looking to target, writes Elliot Smither.

The Asian fixed income market is far from perfectly efficient, creating plenty of opportunites for active managers, yet most investors are underweight the asset class despite the region’s strong economic fundamentals. Elliot Smither reports.