BNP Paribas Investment Partners has launched a fund that tracks an index of the 300 largest and most liquid stocks on China's mainland stock exchanges.

The firm will invest in the mainland stocks, known as A shares, using its renminbi qualified foreign institutional investor (RQFII) quota. BNP Paribas IP says it was among the first European asset managers to gain RQFII status, last September.

The fund will aim to track the CSI 300 Price Return Index, which includes stocks on both the Shanghai and Shenzen stock exchanges.

Tino Moorrees, head of Asia cross-border sales at the firm, says the fund offers investors "a straightforward way to make dedicated investments in China in order to diversify their asset allocation in an area that exhibits low correlation with other global assets".

In June, index compiler MSCI ruled against adding A shares to its widely followed Emerging Markets index, judging that the various access routes for international investors, such as the RQFII scheme, were not yet transparent and flexible enough.

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