Asia fund flows begin to waver

Fund flows in Asia had appeared relatively immune to the global crisis, but are now beginning to falter.

First quarter flows were a modest $31bn (£20bn, €23bn), down from more than $51bn in the last three months of 2008, according to data from Lipper FMI. But it was China that changed the picture, with investors there pulling $33bn from funds across all asset classes, while the rest of Asia registered inflows of $62bn.

The outflows from funds in China were the first since 2006 and the steepest on record.