TWO domestic mutual fund firms have failed to launch planned funds over the past two weeks while dozens more have extended subscription periods, hit hard by a sharp decline in investor risk appetite and underperformance by the industry. Tongtai Asset Management Co. said in a statement last week it was abandoning plans for a hybrid fund after a three-month subscription period without sufficient interest. That follows BOC International (China) Co.’s announcement two weeks ago that a planned exchange-traded fund targeting new energy vehicle battery stocks had failed to attract enough interest. “Risk appetite is low given the backdrop of the Fed tightening and Russia-Ukraine tensions,” said Ivan Shi, head of research at Shanghai-based fund consultancy Z-Ben Advisors. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise rates next month. Shi also noted the industry had not been performing well. An index tracking China’s active funds has lost 11 percent so far this year compared with a 6 percent decline in the benchmark CSI300 Index. Fundraising by Chinese mutual fund houses slumped to 118.8 billion yuan in January, down 61 percent from a month earlier and down 76 percent from a year ago, according to Z-Ben. Last month, a total of 148 funds were launched in China, down 39.59 percent from December, while the shares of funds issued came in at 118.82 billion, down by 60.87 percent compared with that of December, Xinhua quoted financial information provider Wind as saying Feb. 13. (SD-Agencies) | 