SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's securities regulator has approved a fresh batch of nine exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that target technology shares listed in Hong Kong, financial media Caixin reported on Tuesday, potentially benefiting the battered sector.
The move followed China's approval earlier this month for domestic fund managers' first ETFs based on Hong Kong's Hang Seng TECH Index, giving Chinese investors increased access to such big-name stocks as Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) and Tencent (HK:0700).
The newly approved products were based on indices covering three categories, including CSI Hong Kong Connect Technology Index, the Hang Seng SCHK China Technology Index, and CSI Hong Kong Technology Index, according to the report.
Individual stocks have slightly different weightings in each index, but they largely overlap with the constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Technology Index, which represents the 30 largest technology companies listed in the financial hub.
Technology stocks in Hong Kong have fallen this year on regulatory challenges from mainland China and worries over Sino-U.S. relations, while concerns on inflationary pressure from overseas also weighed.
The Hang Seng Tech Index has lost 7.7% so far this year, while the benchmark Hang Seng Index has gained 4.8% during the same period.
Graphic: Hong Kong tech stocks: https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/dgkvloqjnpb/image-1621311236323.png
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Caixin added that the new products were launched by nine mutual fund managers including Penghua Fund, Invesco Great Wall, Guotai Asset Management, Huatai-Pinebridge Fund Management, HFT Investment Management, China Merchants Fund Management, Southern (NYSE:SO) Asset Management, Ping An Fund and Yinhua Fund Management.