(Yicai) Feb. 22 -- E Fund Management, China's largest fund manager, and leading Saudi Arabian assets manager Riyadh Capital have signed a non-binding agreement to exchange expertise and cooperate in local investment areas.

E Fund and Riyadh Capital inked the deal at the two-day Saudi Capital Market Forum in Riyadh on Feb. 20, ACN Newswire reported yesterday. Representatives from the Shanghai and Saudi stock exchange were present at the signing ceremony, according to Shanghai Securities News.

"E Fund has been consistently advancing its global development strategy, and this partnership with Riyad Capital represents a significant step forward," said Liu Xiaoyan, co-chairman and chief executive of the Guangzhou-based firm.

"With this partnership we will enhance our investment capabilities in Saudi Arabia and the broader region and expand our product offerings and services, while also establishing a bridge for investors in Saudi to understand and allocate to China," Liu noted.

The tie-up allows Riyadh Capital to tap into E Fund's extensive Asia network and access its products while sharing the Saudi firm's local investment expertise, noted Chief Executive Abdullah Alshwer. The firm hopes to offer global investors access to Saudi capital markets and offer local clients a wider range of investment opportunities in different global markets, he added.

The partnership is the latest example of cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia’s capital markets in recent months. In late November, CSOP Asset Management, a unit of China Southern Asset Management, listed the Asia Pacific's first Saudi exchange-traded fund, the CSOP Saudi Arabia ETF, on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The ETF is the world’s biggest of its kind by asset size.

Huatai-PineBridge Fund Management has also applied to set up an ETF that will invest in the CSOP Saudi Arabia ETF, the website of the China Securities Regulatory Commission showed in December. The ETF, which is pending approval, is set to become the Chinese mainland's first to invest in a Saudi market ETF listed on the HKSE. 

Editor: Martin Kadiev