Interview: Services trade fair an opportunity for British financial firms -- Schroders executive

LONDON, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- A top executive at a global asset management company has described the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) as a springboard for its ambitious plans in the region.

"The fair gives us a platform and an opportunity to network, and it will bring into focus our ambitions for the Chinese market," Sebastian Wood, chairman of China Affairs with Schroders, founded in London two centuries ago, has told Xinhua lately.

The company, with a strong global presence in 38 locations, sees China as an exciting growth area. "One thing we are looking to highlight in particular at the fair is that Schroders was awarded a license in June of this year to operate a public funds business in China, which we're excited about," Wood said.

"We have significant operations in Europe and the Middle East and the United States and Latin America also, but Asia Pacific is one of the largest components and of course, China is a big piece of that, and China is modernizing and developing its investment markets rapidly," said Wood.

With China's financial services "progressively opening up to more international participation, The executive said, "Schroders has been one of the very first global asset managers to take advantage of these new freedoms to operate in the Chinese market."

"We see it as a long-term strategic commitment which we have to this market. We want our services to be available to a range of clients in China, including larger Chinese financial institutions and intermediaries down to retail clients as well," he noted.

The fair, which runs on Sept. 2-6 in Beijing, will also be a good opportunity for Schroders to take stock together of the reforms that are underway in China's capital markets, Wood said.

"I think CIFTIS will be an excellent platform for global financial services firms like Schroders," he said.