(Yicai Global) July 9 -- UBS Asset Management has denied a market rumor of a rush by its customers to redeem Chinese funds today, according to online news outlet The Paper. 

The rumor recently circulated that Chinese funds managed by a large foreign institution saw massive redemptions by clients, at a scale of around USD30 billion. Some market insiders speculated that the business involved was UBS. 

But UBS said the changes in investment portfolios have been in line with the normal business scope. The total scale of the funds managed by UBS China’s stock team exceeded USD36 billion at the end of last month, the report said, citing UBS Asset’s response yesterday. 

The report also noted that Shi Bin, head of China equities at UBS Asset, posted on his personal social media account that he has felt pressure over the last year from the many market rumors that are not based on facts. He also said he believed his team could turn the pressure into momentum.  

Shi manages at least four China-related funds including the USD13 billion UBS Lux Equity Fund-China Opportunity, the world’s largest China-stock fund, according to data from rating agency Morningstar. 

However, these funds have not performed well so far this year, with earnings rates that were negative yesterday. UBS Lux Equity Fund-China Opportunity suffered the biggest drop, reaching 11.3 percent. 

Editor: Tom Litting