An investment house says it is the first to take advantage of a cross-border funds pact between Hong Kong and Switzerland.

Asia specialist firm Harvest Global Investments said it has become the first firm to quality funds under a cross-border funds scheme inked late last year between Hong Kong and Singapore.

The firm’s funds will qualify under the Switzerland-Hong Kong Mutual Recognition of Funds scheme that was set up in December last year. The scheme, like the mainland China/Hong Kong agreement, is designed to make it easier to buy and sell funds across borders.

The MRF scheme allows Swiss investors to allocate funds to Harvest’s China Equity and Asia Frontier strategies. These strategies have exposure to all Chinese investment channels, including Hong Kong listed securities and to frontier Asian markets including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.

The China Equity strategy capitalises on long-term upward trends in Chinese markets including alternative energy, software and internet, consumption upgrade, and innovative technology. The Asia Frontier strategy identifies opportunities linked to significant structural themes, such as China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative and the growth of consumption and tourism-related industries.

Policymakers around the world have sought to foster regional and cross-border funds markets to encourage economies of scale, cut transaction costs and increase market access. In the European Union, for example, the UCITS funds structure has been a feature for some time, enabling funds to be sold/bought across the 28-state bloc without having to be individually regulated in each jurisdiction.

Harvest Global Investments, set up in 2008, is the international arm of Harvest Fund Management Co and has offices in Hong Kong, London, and New York. At the end of March it had $114.25 billion of assets under management.