China capital controls opportunity for OBOR investors

Chinese constraints on capital outflows could benefit overseas investors looking to bankroll President Xi Jinping’s cornerstone “Belt and Road” initiative, an Australian infrastructure fund manager said. With China needing offshore support if its plan to revive the ancient Silk Road is to succeed, foreigners could fill a gap created by tight controls keeping Chinese capital at home, said Grant Dooley, Asia Pacific head of Hastings Funds Management Ltd. “There appears to be an inherent contradiction in the Chinese government policy at the moment,” Dooley said in an interview in Melbourne. “It’s an opportunity.” In May Xi pledged 540 billion yuan ($79.4 billion) in financing to build roads, railways, ports and pipelines across 65 countries in Asia and beyond as part of his push to secure a central role for China in world trade and diplomacy, Bloomberg reports. Credit Suisse Group AG estimates the plan could funnel investments worth as much as $502 billion.