(Yicai Global) Sept. 11 -- China Renaissance Group, which which is poised to list in Hong Kong, has confirmed its first group of cornerstone investors. They include Ant Financial, LGT Group Foundation and Snow Lake Capital, a source told the Economic Observer Online.

The three investment institutions have scope to cooperate extensively with China Renaissance in internationalization, financial technology, internet securities, wealth and asset management and other fields, public information shows.

The asset management, wealth management, financial technology and other business orientations will usher in rapid development from rising Chinese household incomes and the complexity of investment demand and structures, Bao Fan, China Renaissance chief executive, said in an open letter in the firm's prospectus.

Investment from Ant Financial under Hangzhou-headquartered tech giant Alibaba Group Holding is likely to positively impact the firm's listing and market short term, while the long haul will afford great scope for further future cooperation between the two. The firm will  collaborate with the Alibaba unit in wealth management, financial technology, internet securities and other businesses.
The other two cornerstone investors, LGT and Snow Lake Capital, are both well-known investment institutions with a foreign investment background.

Founded in 1920, LGT is the world's largest family-owned private banking and asset management group. It is in the hands of the 900-year-old Liechtenstein royal family. Its current chief executive is Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein, son of the monarch of the diminutive principality wedged between Austria and Switzerland. LGT was one of the first international institutional investors in China.

Snow Lake Capital is a more low-key and mysterious hedge fund with more than USD1 billion in assets under management. Its entrusted funds mainly come from global institutional investors, including endowment funds from top universities, non-profit foundations, family funds, pension funds and national sovereign funds, per its the official website. Before returning China to establish Snow Lake Capital in 2009, its founder Ma Ziming worked for Credit Suisse First Boston, a well-known San Francisco investment bank, and Ziff Brothers Investments, a top New York hedge fund.

Editor: Ben Armour