Hong Kong sees brisk ETF trading in first 9 months

HONG KONG - Hong Kong's average daily turnover of ETFs reached HK$13 billion ($1.67 billion) in the first three quarters of 2024, up 10 percent from the 2023 full-year average, local data showed on Tuesday.

The increase widens to 32 percent when compared to the average in full year 2022, said Joseph Chan, acting secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, at the ETF Summit 2024 hosted by the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX).

Since launching the first ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) in 1999, HKEX has become one of the largest and most active ETF exchanges in Asia, said Chan.

The listing of Asia's first ETF tracking the Saudi Arabian market in Hong Kong in November 2023 as well as the listing of two ETFs tracking Hong Kong stocks in Saudi Arabia last month will help diversify Hong Kong's capital sources while boosting market liquidity, he said.

About 200 ETF products are now listed in Hong Kong with a total market capitalization of $60 billion, according to Wilfred Yiu, deputy chief executive officer of the HKEX Group.