AllianceBernstein has launched a new fund, a fixed income vehicle aiming to tap into renminbi bonds and looking to focus on investors wanting diversification in the Asian market outside equities, according to media reports.

The Alliance Bernstein – RMB Income Plus Portfolio, the currency exposure of which will be almost exclusively to the renminbi, will tap into renminbi bonds issued outside China and those from other Asian countries ex-Japan, reports Citywire.

“Since 2005, the renminbi has no longer been pegged to the US dollar. Despite the government’s continuing control of the exchange rate, the currency has appreciated by about 20 per cent in the intervening period. With China’s growth rate this year expected to be about 9 per cent – well over double that of the world as a whole – we think there is scope for the renminbi to strengthen further,” Hayden Briscoe, a fund manager at the group, is quoted as saying.

Earlier this month the firm launched a UCITS III-compliant fund which will predominantly invest in European equities.