Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Value Partners Group Ltd., the first asset manager to sell stock in Hong Kong, may offer investment products together with shareholder Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. to tap China's $2.3 trillion of household savings.

``The relationship with Ping An Insurance Group is strategic in nature,'' Franco Ngan, chief executive officer of Hong Kong- based Value Partners, said yesterday in an interview. ``We do intend to explore business cooperation opportunities, particularly in relation to offering investment products in the mainland market.''

Fund-management companies are expanding in China, where economic growth four times the pace of the U.S. is boosting disposable incomes. Bank of New York Mellon Corp., the world's biggest asset custodian, said Nov. 21 it's starting a venture with a Chinese company to sell funds to individual investors.

China's soaring stock market helped Ping An's third-quarter profit more than quadruple to 3.6 billion yuan ($487 million), the company said last month. Growth in premiums has enabled Ping An to move more money into equity investments. Even after a 15 percent loss this month, China's benchmark CSI 300 Index has more than doubled since Jan. 1.

Value Partners shares surged 7.5 percent to close at HK$8.20 in Hong Kong on their second trading day, outpacing the 1.5 percent gain in the 11-member Hang Seng Finance Index.

Outside China

Shenzhen-based Ping An Insurance, China's second-largest insurer, paid HK$1.1 billion ($141 million) for a 9 percent stake in Value Partners. Ngan declined to elaborate more on the products the firm may offer with Ping An, citing China's regulatory environment.

With $5.7 billion of assets under management, the Hong Kong company was ranked by Alpha magazine as Asia's second-biggest hedge fund manager by the amount of money it oversees.

Ping An, part-owned by HSBC Holdings Plc, has said it wants to make insurance, banking and asset management the three pillars of its business.

Value Partners, which invested about 88 percent of assets it manages in Greater China as of June 30, will gradually move more investments into other parts of Asia-Pacific, Ngan said in the interview.

``Going forward, we will step out of the Greater China region, but we have to do that in a controlled manner,'' he said, adding Value Partners will also look into expanding into private equity.

To contact the reporters on this story: Susan Li in Hong Kong at sli31@bloomberg.net; Chia-Peck Wong in Hong Kong at cpwong@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 23, 2007 03:25 EST