Fund allows Japanese to invest in NZ using yen

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Japanese people who have visited as tourists are seen as likely candidates for a new fund allowing them to invest in New Zealand companies using their own currency.

Bancorp Wealth Management yesterday said it had launched a Japan New Zealand Fund in conjunction with Japanese broking house Bansei Yamamura Securities.

Bancorp managing director Craig Brownie said the fund would sell its units in yen and target retail investors in Japan.

While New Zealand has typically been seen as an attractive place for the Japanese housewife chasing better savings returns, Brownie said its fund was more suitable to long-term investors.

"Many Japanese who come here as tourists also want to invest money here. New Zealand is quite well known in Japan for its tourism and its clean green aspect."

The fund would invest in New Zealand corporate bonds either listed on the stock exchange or unlisted, New Zealand shares, and private equity investments in businesses with export links to Japan.

"Initially it will be spread across the NZX-50 with a focus on exporters," he said. Brownie said Bancorp would spend the next six weeks raising money in Japan and hoped to get about $30 million in the pot before the fund began investing.

He then hoped to build it up to $300 million over the next two years.

Brownie said it was not easy for Japanese people to invest directly in the New Zealand sharemarket. China was seen as a growth country but Japan still had a lot of money to invest.