Eight ETFs from six issuers debuted simultaneously on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on September 28, marking the busiest single day for ETF listings this year.

The issuers include Huatai Bairui Hong Kong, GF International, Dacheng International, Fullgoal Hong Kong, Haitong International, and Hang Seng Investment. Industry insiders joked that the gong mallet at the exchange was about to spark from overuse.

Among the eight ETFs, seven are "60/40" cross-market products, with only the Hang Seng AI Evolution ETF being a pure Hong Kong equity fund. These "60/40" ETFs allow up to 40% of assets to be invested in international securities, enabling investors to gain exposure to overseas assets and global themes through the ETF Connect scheme.

Benefiting from regulatory adjustments in July 2024 that revised eligibility criteria for ETF Connect inclusion, "60/40" ETFs have developed rapidly. Wind data shows that as of September 28, there are 27 such ETFs listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with seven already included in the ETF Connect program.

Industry participants noted that the concentrated issuance of "60/40" ETFs in late September reflects many asset managers' aim to capture the "inclusion window" at the end of March next year. Under regulatory requirements, Hong Kong ETFs that have been listed for at least six months, whose underlying index has been published for at least one year, and that meet scale and liquidity criteria can be added to the Stock Connect program. Southbound ETF adjustments occur semi-annually, with review cutoff dates at the end of March and September each year.

New Products from Multiple Issuers

The eight ETFs listing simultaneously on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange each have distinct features, with the seven "60/40" ETFs issued by Hong Kong subsidiaries of mainland asset management firms drawing particular attention.

Huatai Bairui HK's HKEX-KRX Semiconductor Index ETF is the first product from Huatai Bairui's Hong Kong subsidiary. The ETF tracks the HKEX-KRX Semiconductor Index, which has approximately 60% weighting in Hong Kong-listed companies eligible for Stock Connect and about 40% in Korea Exchange-listed companies, making it a "60/40" ETF variety currently popular in the market.

Industry observers noted that Huatai Bairui HK's foray into Hong Kong-Korea semiconductors is unsurprising, given that parent company Huatai Bairui manages the only China-Korea semiconductor ETF in the mainland. As of September 24, that ETF had reached Rmb11.66bn in scale amid QDII quota constraints, with a year-to-date return of 82.04%.

Notably, this index is the first jointly branded index between HKEX and the Korea Exchange. Both Huatai Bairui HK and Boshi International were among the first batch to receive authorization for this index, with Boshi International's ETF already listed on September 24.

GF International launched two ETFs simultaneously: the GF HKEX Tech and US Tech 100 ETF and the GF MSCI Global Strategic Metals ETF, targeting Hong Kong-US technology and global strategic metals respectively. The GF HKEX Tech and US Tech 100 ETF is the first product tracking the HKEX Tech and US Tech 100 Index, which covers Hong Kong market exposure to technology themes including artificial intelligence, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, electric vehicles and smart driving, internet, and robotics; the US portion covers large technology companies listed on Nasdaq.

The GF MSCI Global Strategic Metals ETF, listed the same day, positions itself around "multi-metal allocation and cross-market configuration." It tracks the MSCI Global Strategic Metals Select Index, which selects companies with metals and mining industry exposure from eligible Hong Kong-listed and global market stocks to reflect the performance of relevant listed enterprises.

Dacheng International's Dacheng Galaxy HKEX-Bursa Malaysia Large Cap ETF is also groundbreaking. The index was jointly launched by HKEX Index Company and Bursa Malaysia's index business on March 27 this year, the first jointly branded index between the two exchanges, covering 60 large-cap listed companies across both markets, with 30 constituent stocks from Hong Kong and 30 from Malaysia, though Hong Kong-listed companies carry 60% weighting. It selects the largest and most liquid companies spanning technology, financials, telecommunications, energy, consumer, and healthcare sectors.

Xiao Jian, Deputy General Manager of Dacheng Fund and General Manager of Dacheng International, said the Hong Kong and Malaysia large caps covered by the ETF hold unique strategic value in Asia's cross-border capital flow landscape. Hong Kong's international competitiveness and deep liquidity complement Malaysia's solid endowments in pillar industries such as banking, finance, and utilities. This cross-market structural allocation focusing on stable returns and financial themes provides solid support for the product's growth.

Fullgoal Hong Kong's Fullgoal Hang Seng HK-US Robotics ETF is a sector-themed ETF tracking the Hang Seng HK-US Robotics Thematic Index, covering 40 Hong Kong or US-listed companies with businesses related to robotics themes, including Ubtech Robotics, Nvidia, Tesla, and Alphabet among its constituents.

Haitong International also listed two "60/40" ETFs: the Guotai Haitong Global Future Technology ETF and the Guotai Haitong Global Strategic Resources ETF.

Additionally, the Hang Seng AI Evolution ETF issued by Hang Seng Investment tracks the Hang Seng Artificial Intelligence Thematic Index, whose constituents are all Hong Kong-listed companies.

September has become a密集 harvest period for ETF listings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Previously, several ETFs were listed including Mirae Asset's Global X Copper Miners ETF, Global X KOSPI 200 ETF, CSOP Solactive Asia AI Bottleneck Index ETF, CSOP Hang Seng Premier Tech Index ETF, Boshi HKEX-KRX Semiconductor Index ETF, and Value Partners Optical Communication Active ETF.

Before the National Day holiday, ChinaAMC Hong Kong has five ETFs listing on September 29 and 30; on September 30, Ping An Asset Management (Hong Kong) will list two ETFs. Data shows that 21 ETFs listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange this month, with half focused on technology and semiconductor themes.

Four ETFs Tracking HKEX Cross-Market Index Series Debut

The Huatai Bairui HKEX-KRX Semiconductor Index ETF, GF HKEX Tech and US Tech 100 Index ETF, and Dacheng Galaxy HKEX-Bursa Malaysia Large Cap ETF listed on September 28, together with the Boshi HKEX-KRX Semiconductor Index ETF listed on September 24, are the first batch of ETFs tracking the HKEX cross-market index series.

HKEX launched the HKEX-Bursa Malaysia Large Cap Index, HKEX-KRX Semiconductor Index, and HKEX Tech and US Tech 100 Index earlier this year to strengthen Hong Kong's connections with major international markets. The first two are jointly branded indices developed in cooperation with Bursa Malaysia and the Korea Exchange respectively.

HKEX CEO Chan Yiting said: "These three indices we launched bring together investment opportunities from different markets and sectors, meeting investors' growing demand for diversified allocation and reinforcing Hong Kong's role as a gateway connecting mainland China with the world."

Buyeon Yi, Head of the Future Business Division at the Korea Exchange, said: "We are delighted to welcome the listing of ETFs tracking the HKEX-KRX Semiconductor Index. This index is the first jointly branded index between the Korea Exchange and HKEX. This demonstrates how the two exchanges can leverage their combined expertise in market operations and index development, promote cross-market cooperation, and support investors in regional asset allocation."

"60/40" ETFs Surge

With seven "60/40" ETFs listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, as of September 28 there are 27 such ETFs on the exchange. Among them, seven have been included in Stock Connect and are available for mainland investors to trade, including the CSOP Hang Seng HK-US Tech ETF, CSOP FTSE Eastern and Western Equities Select ETF, Ping An Eastern and Western Equities Select ETF, and E Fund Global AI ETF, covering US and Korean technology sectors, artificial intelligence, and high-dividend companies.

The "60/40" structure emerged primarily from adjustments by the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges to eligibility criteria for ETF Connect inclusion. In July 2024, the Hong Kong asset weight requirement for southbound ETF Connect was lowered from "no less than 90%" to "no less than 60%," with the remaining maximum 40% allowed to be invested in overseas-listed companies. This helps investors extend their allocation vision globally while investing in Hong Kong, giving rise to the innovative "60/40" ETF product category, which has quickly become a "dark horse" in southbound ETF Connect.

Hong Kong regulatory officials said the密集 launch of "60/40" ETFs marks an important step in Hong Kong's collaboration with Asian and global exchanges and partners to enrich investment choices and connect Hong Kong with international markets. These indices bring together investment opportunities from different markets and sectors, meeting investors' growing demand for diversified allocation and consolidating Hong Kong's role as a gateway connecting mainland China with the world.

In fact, "60/40" ETFs have quickly become an important focus for overseas subsidiaries of domestic public funds. He Kai, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of GF International, said that as the Hong Kong ETF market is in a historic strategic opportunity period, ETF deployment is a core path for Chinese fund companies' Hong Kong platforms to achieve leapfrog development. Globally, ETFs are gradually becoming mainstream investment tools; ETF Connect, since its launch in 2022, has become core infrastructure for cross-border allocation and will significantly enhance the long-term stability and scale of southbound capital, becoming a systemic force reshaping the product logic and investor structure of Hong Kong's ETF market.

In his view, Chinese institutions possess the unique endowment of being "connected domestically and internationally," and ETFs are the most direct vehicle for this endowment. Hong Kong's ETF market has seen many successful innovations in recent years, and Chinese fund companies can use this to forge new paths and build core competitive advantages.

Industry observers note that facing investors' growing demand for global asset allocation, "60/40" ETFs, with their unique value of "rooted in Hong Kong stocks, allocated globally," have opened a new channel for cross-border capital deployment. If conditions such as fund scale and index constituent weight composition meet Shanghai and Shenzhen exchange requirements in the future, "60/40" ETFs are expected to be included in southbound ETF Connect. Mainland investors would then be able to allocate global assets through the Stock Connect channel without consuming QDII quotas or opening overseas accounts, providing more diversified cross-market opportunities while potentially playing an increasingly important role in the two-way opening of capital markets.

Another overseas subsidiary head of a domestic asset management institution said it will continue to fully invest in ETF ecosystem development in the Hong Kong market, using connectivity as a link to comprehensively develop broad-based, sector, and innovative ETFs to better provide solutions matching investor needs.

Insurance Capital Entry Expected to Reshape Hong Kong ETF Market Ecosystem

Notably, with insurance funds now permitted to invest in Stock Connect ETFs, "60/40" ETFs that do not consume QDII quotas will also become important targets for institutional capital allocation. CSOP said it will design allocation-oriented ETFs that meet insurance capital needs based on understanding mainland insurance institutions' requirements, leveraging its research and product capabilities.

As ETF market competition intensifies, the importance of active research capabilities is becoming prominent. Research capabilities help issuers understand industry cycles, corporate earnings quality, valuation structures, and market risks, thereby judging whether an ETF truly reflects long-term investment logic rather than merely chasing short-term market热点.

"As connectivity deepens, product supply suitable for long-term capital may continue to expand, enhancing market-making and liquidity support," CSOP noted. With policy implementation, institutional research, and market infrastructure maturing simultaneously, insurance capital allocation to Hong Kong ETFs will move toward normalization and scale.

Hong Kong's Multi-Asset Ecosystem Flourishes

Chan Yiting said: "We are pleased that HKEX's index business continues to develop steadily, with more products tracking our indices. We will continue to develop proprietary and jointly branded indices across different asset classes, committed to driving product innovation, facilitating capital flows, and creating opportunities for issuers, asset managers, and investors, supporting the development of Hong Kong's multi-asset ecosystem."

Chen Duan, Head of the Investment Products Division at the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, said at the listing ceremony that today's listings confirm the continued vitality and innovative spirit of Hong Kong's ETF market. "We are pleased to see active industry participation and remain optimistic about the future development of Hong Kong's ETF ecosystem. We look forward to seeing more innovative ETF products come to market, further enriching investor choices and supporting Hong Kong's development as an international asset and wealth management center," Chen said.