China's Taobao to sell fund products in September

BEIJING - Taobao.com, China's leading online shopping platform, has delayed the sale of fund products until late September at the earliest, Monday's China Securities Journal reported.

The original date had been set for late August.

"The exact date is not decided as it takes time to get feedback from the supervision departments and finish system tests between Taobao and fund companies," said the newspaper, citing a fund manager who requested anonymity.

Fund companies which are fully prepared and actively participate in the testing will be the first to go online, according to the manager.

Companies may include Tianhong, Fullgoal and Guotai, he said.

Before any official sales on Taobao, fund companies have to think about their market positioning as well as what and how to sell online, the newspaper said.

There are also other problems.

If prices are tagged based on sales, a paradox will arise that equity funds earn more but do not sell well. If the fund products are sold on Taobao, it will compete with Yu'E Bao which is regarded as China's first online investment fund aimed at individuals.

The number of buyers of Yu'E Bao, has exceeded 1 million since its trial launch in June.

"They are still thinking of solutions," the manager told the newspaper.