China okays 2 ETFs tracking top Saudi Arabian firms to list on onshore markets
- Huatai-Pinebridge Fund Management and China Southern Asset Management have been given the go-ahead to launch the ETFs, the two companies said
China has opened up its capital market to Asia’s first exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks Saudi Arabia’s largest companies, as the two countries continue to deepen financial ties.
Two feeder funds – Hautai-Pinebridge CSOP Saudi Arabia ETF QDII and China Southern CSOP Saudi Arabia ETF QDII – that mirror the CSOP Saudi ETF in Hong Kong have received approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to list on the mainland, the two companies said on Friday. The funds will be managed by Huatai-Pinebridge Fund Management and China Southern Asset Management.
The cross-listed ETFs will operate under the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) programme, which allows institutional investors to invest in foreign securities within a prescribed quota. Funds offered under the QDII scheme officially allow China’s retail investors to invest in foreign stocks and bonds.
“It’s the first of its kind for mainland investors,” said Ding Chen, CEO of CSOP Asset Management, a Hong Kong venture owned by China Southern Asset Management. The market has shown great interest in this product, and it also supports the Belt and Road Initiative, she added.
