China has launched its first dedicated fund management association, a self-regulatory organisation which will act as an industry standards body, according to media reports.

The China Fund Association was launched this week in Beijing, attended by 72 fund managers, according to report in AsianInvestor.

The move was welcomed as a positive step for the industry, although doubts were raised over its potential influence.

“Such a self-regulatory organisation is necessary,” suggests Lin Yixiang, chief executive of TX Investment Consulting, cited in the report. “It will help the fund management industry to manage itself better and to develop. It will also help to establish discipline in the conduct of industry practitioners.”

Sun Jie has been named chairman. He was previously the director of investment fund supervision at the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Beneath him are two full-time vice-chairmen, Han Kang, who currently serves as deputy director of CSRC’s Shanghai bureau, and Cao Dianyi, a former director of CSRC’s Heilongjiang bureau.

The CFA will be dedicated to the fund management industry, which sets it apart from two existing organisations of a similar nature: the Securities Association of China and the Shanghai Asset Management Association.