Process for producing optically active aliphatic fluoroalcohol

A process for producing an optically active fluoroalcohol, in which, under the presence of an acid and an asymmetric catalyst that is a metal complex represented by general formula (1):

• wherein R1 and R2 may be identical to or different from each other, and are one selected from the group consisting of an alkyl group that may have a substituent, a phenyl group that may have a substituent, a naphthyl group that may have a substituent, a cycloalkyl group that may have a substituent, and an unsubstituted or substituted alicyclic ring formed by binding R1 and R2,
• R3 is one selected from the group consisting of an alkyl group that may have a substituent, a perfluoroalkyl group, a phenyl group that may have a substituent, a naphthyl group that may have a substituent, a cycloalkyl group that may have a substituent, a benzyl group that may have a substituent, a piperidinyl group that may have a substituent, a pyrrolidinyl group that may have a substituent, and a camphor group that may have a substituent,
• R4 is a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group,
• Ar is benzene that may have a substituent or a cyclopentadienyl group that may have a substituent, which binds to M via a π bond,
• X is an anionic group,
• M is ruthenium, rhodium or iridium,
• n denotes either 0 or 1, and when n is 0, then X is absent, and
• * denotes an asymmetric carbon;
• an aliphatic ketone having one or more fluorine atoms at α position is reacted to produce an optically active alcohol in a solvent containing water, using a formate as a hydrogen source.