The exchange traded fund (ETF) market is already huge in places like Canada, the United States and in Europe. The next market to tackle? Asia.
Cris Sholto Heaton for Index Universe takes us around the news reel for the happenings throughout Asia and its ETF market. The round up may help you to decide if you are ready to park your money into Asian equities-or not.
- Deutsche Bank Expands: Deutsche Bank continues to be the most active new issuer of ETFs in Asia, adding four more Singapore-listed funds to the db x-trackers range over the past two weeks. [Chinese Citizens Aren’t Worried.]
- AgBank’s Record-Breaking IPO: The big news in Asian markets in recent weeks has been the impending float of Agricultural Bank of China. Pricing hasn’t yet been officially announced for this dual IPO in Hong Kong and Shanghai, but reports indicate that it is set to raise US$19.2 billion. Given its size and importance, the stock will end up in plenty of China indexes on the next reshuffle.
- Accessing Chinese Investors’ Cash: Most investors are aware that the mainland China market is largely closed to foreigners. Still, the fact that China is slowly moving to allow its investors wider access to world markets is intriguing. The “through train” proposal to allow Chinese investors to buy directly into Hong Kong-listed stocks was officially killed off earlier this year, but plans to allow cross-border ETFs linked to overseas indices to list in Shanghai are very much alive. [Which Way for Yuan ETFs?]
For more stories about Asia, visit our Asia category.
Tisha Guerrero contributed to this article.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.