A Chinese state-run bank has launched the country’s first publicly-offered fund for investing in India. ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management Co has launched the ICBC Credit Suisse India Market Fund, because India is the “most important emerging market overseas”, the Global Times reported.

The state-run daily said that the bank would invest in exchange-traded funds listed on more than 20 exchanges in Europe and the United States that are based on the Indian market. The Global Times claimed ICBC would “invest in the future of the Indian economy” and “track the distribution of industry across the Indian market”.

The Chinese newspaper said that the state-run bank decided to invest in India because “the certainty of India’s growth is very clear”. It claimed that India’s value as a market in future would be “very large” because of rapid urbanisation and the growth of the middle class.

“If estimated by purchasing power parity, India’s Gross Domestic Product is already close to 7% of the world’s,” the Global Times said. It claimed that investing in the Indian market would enable the investor to take the benefit of double-digit growth.

However, the Global Times report did not quote any Chinese officials.