THE first overseas fund by Yinhua Fund Management Co Ltd attracted a record low investment amid weak global equities markets.

Yinhua's fund under the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor scheme raised only 417 million yuan (US$60 million) with 5,665 effective accounts since it started subscriptions on April 21, Yinhua said in a statement yesterday.

It was far below the US$2 billion the fund had intended to raise. Yinhua, which targets developed and emerging markets globally, has planned investment of not less than 60 percent in overseas mutual funds.

The amount netted compared to 463 million yuan another QDII fund, the Fortune SGAM Fund Management Co Ltd under Societe Generale, raised earlier this month, which was the previous record low.

"The cold response from the investors is due to corrections in global equities markets and losses of QDII products in that period," said Xie Liwen, a fund manager. "But there is no basic change in market fundamentals. Once liquidity recovers, investor confidence in the global markets is expected to return."

Some QDII funds have dropped below their par value after global financial markets lost between 12 percent and 30 percent since last year.

The QDII funds provide a diversified investment channel and offer Chinese investors access to global markets.

Last September and October, four Chinese QDII funds raised US$4 billion each from domestic investors.

But they have since fallen below their par value.