Banking group HSBC has launched an exchange-traded fund (ETF) covering Chinese stocks that will be listed on the London Stock Exchange to mark the start of the Chinese New Year.
The HSBC MSCI China ETF will have a total expense ratio of 0.6% and will be offered in sterling and US dollar currencies. The product is HSBC's 15th ETF in Europe and will aim to mirror the performance of the MSCI China Index, which offers exposure to leading Chinese companies that are easily accessible to foreign investors via the Hong Kong market.
The new instrument will aim to replicate the performance of the MSCI China Index and will invest in securities using the same proportions with which they are weighted in the index. Further registrations and cross-listings are planned for the ETF in Europe.
“The secular China investment opportunity needs little introduction and it is natural for us to be adding a China ETF to our very wide range of investment products focused on this high-growth market,” said Farley Thomson, head of ETFs at HSBC. “We are ushering in the Chinese New Year with our first China ETF in Europe and we aim to add considerably to our range of ETFs through the year.”
As of December 2010, HSBC had US$7.5 billion worth of ETF assets under management and had a 13% market share of ETFs in Asia ex-Japan, according to asset manager Blackrock's November ”ETF landscape' report.