Asia-focused fund managers wanted

Edinburgh fund managers might have to start polishing up on their Japanese as Scotland prepares to woo Japan's billion-pound pensions business.

Last week, Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International held meetings with Japanese bankers in an attempt to gain access for Scottish-based firms to manage funds from Japan's lucrative, but traditionally low-return, asset management market.

Will the move prompt demand for dedicated Asian fund specialists north of the border? Probably not, say most recruiters but many fund managers will probably need to pick up a few phrases of Japanese to open up the doors to a yen fortune.

Joslin Rowe Scotland director Margaret Dyer said: "As with all new markets or products, country-specific developments such as this generally mean that the demand for a certain language or skill set increases. It wouldn't surprise me if demand for Japanese languages begins to rise"

A spokesman for SDI said: "The banking institutions in Japan, having spent the last number of years focusing on how to pay back their public debt, are urgently looking to provide secure investment vehicles to aid this retiring generation - and partnerships with overseas financial institutions have an important role to play."

Several Scottish-based investment companies already operate Asia-focused funds. Martin Currie, for example, announced a new 210m Asia-Pacific fund for European investors earlier this year. Abderdeen Asset Management has had an Asian office since 1992 and manages a huge US$34.6bn in equities in the region.