Chinese hedge fund Springs Cap expands to HK in growth push

HONG KONG, July 25 (Reuters) - Chinese hedge fund Springs Capital is expanding its presence to Hong Kong as it looks to strengthen its expertise on H shares and win more offshore clients, a top executive said on Monday.

The firm, managing about $700 million, is setting up trading and investment desks in Hong Kong and looking to add 2 research analysts in 2011 to step up coverage of Hong Kong-listed Chinese firms or H shares, Managing Director Jenny Tian said.

Springs Capital, one of the few A share focused asset managers in China's hedge fund space, has seen 15 percent growth in assets of its offshore China long/short hedge fund and expects it to grow to $100 million from $69 million now in the next one year, Tian said.

Beijing-based Springs Capital was founded in 2007 by seven people who previously worked together at China's second-biggest mutual fund firm Harvest Fund Management. (Reporting by Nishant Kumar; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)