Hedge funds that focus on a single Asian country are booming, The Wall Street Journal reports. Citing data from EurekaHedge, The WSJ says the number of those single-country-focused funds were up last year 25% in Asia ex-Japan to 90 and 27% for Asia-Pacific funds, now totaling 133. Take Japan-focused funds out the equation, and the number of single-country HFS soared 68%. “The brisk pace of growth and sustained investor interest in Asia has meant a broadening of the scope of the investment activities in the region, Rajeev Baddepudi of Eurekahedge in Singapore told The WSJ. Eurekahedge reports that at the end of 2005, there were 301 single-country funds in Asia – a 31% increase -- with the lion’s share located in Japan, though other countries, such as China and India, are clawing their way to the top as well. Peter Douglas of the Alternative Investment Management Association’s Singapore chapter, said in a WSJ interview that the burgeoning Asian market for hedge funds is proof that “niches are viable...In theory, a manager who knows one market intimately can fund more alpha opportunities than the generalists.” According to Eurekahedge, regional hedge funds account for more than one-third of the $128 billion invested in the continent, with HFs focusing on Japan representing a 31% share of the total.
