China’s top bank bets on India growth

State-run Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has launched the country’s first India-dedicated publicly offered investment fund, saying the Indian market offers the "best opportunity" for Chinese investors due to the prospects of double-digit growth.

The ICBC is China's largest lender by market value. The fund, named the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Credit Suisse India Market Fund, will "invest in exchange-traded funds listed on more than 20 exchanges in Europe and the US that are based on the Indian market".

It is China's first publicly offered fund for investing in India, state-run Global Times reported.

The fund will invest in the future of the Indian economy and track the distribution of the industrial structure across the Indian market, the report quoted a fund manager as saying.

The move, regarded as significant by observers to boost investments in India comes just about a fortnight after the first ever informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at Wuhan.

The bank while launching the fund has given an upbeat picture of India's economic growth path.

"As the most important emerging market overseas, the Indian stock market's long-term trend must be positive. For Chinese investors, the current moment offers the best opportunity to get started in Indian stocks," the paper said in its report on the launch of the India fund by the ICBC.