Bank of China has acquired a 30 per cent stake in Heritage Fund Management SA (HFM), an asset manager specialized in managing Asia-focused funds.

Bank of China, a commercial bank, is 70.79%-owned by the Chinese state. The 30 per cent stake in HFM has been acquired via Bank of China (UK), which is regulated by the Financial Services Authority, the U.K. regulator.

HFM manages six funds and has more than â?¬300 million under management. Some of the firm's funds have been hard hit by market volatility this year after a solid 2007.