KUALA LUMPUR – Affin Hwang Asset Management Berhad (“Affin Hwang AM” or “the Company”) announced the expansion of its exchange-traded fund (ETF) offerings with the launch of the TradePlus S&P New China Tracker (“Fund”) that was successfully listed on the Main Market of Bursa Securities today.

The Fund is an equity ETF that provides investors exposure to China’s new economy and to participate in positive growth trends and consumption patterns within its changing economic structure, as it transitions from an investment-driven to a consumption & services-led economy.

Benchmarked against the S&P New China Sectors Ex A-Shares Index(1) (“Benchmark”), the Fund will employ a full replication strategy to closely track the performance of the index, providing an efficient manner for investors to gain broad exposure to Chinese listed companies in its fast-growing consumption and service-oriented industries.

To meet its investment objective, the Fund will invest a minimum of 70% of the Fund’s net asset value (NAV) in authorised securities(2), with an option to invest a maximum of 20% of the Fund’s NAV in derivatives and/or collective investment schemes. The remaining balance shall be invested in money market instruments and/or deposits for liquidity.

Teng Chee Wai, Managing Director of Affin Hwang AM said, “Since the listing of our first ETF (TradePlus Shariah Gold Tracker) on Bursa in 2017, we are proud to roll-out our next passive investment offering to the market in such quick succession. This would enhance our overall product suite and bolster our position in the passive investment space as a full-fledged asset management player.”

“Through this Fund, local investors will be able to participate in one of the biggest investment themes globally as we witness China’s seismic shift from an investment-driven economy that was centred primarily on infrastructure & manufacturing to a more knowledge-driven economy that is focused on research & development (R&D) and innovation,” Teng said.

On the market outlook for China, “We’ve seen some softness in Chinese data that shows its manufacturing sector experiencing some slowdown as a result of the trade conflict. Though, recent stimulus measures announced by Beijing to prop-up growth and cushion the impact from its ongoing trade spat with the US has provided some reprieve for markets and inject liquidity. However, with a larger pain threshold and a more resilient economy today, we don’t see China reverting back to more aggressive stimulus measures to drive growth like its credit-fuelled binge in the past.”

“Over the long-term, as China presses on with its economic restructuring and deleveraging exercise to rein-in credit risk, we see positive structural trends that would bode well for China. Its services and consumption sector now constitute more than 60% of contribution to GDP growth and is expected to increase exponentially with rising income levels and rapid urbanisation in the country. As China continues to harness these strengths, we see opportunities emerging from the New China and the various sectors riding on these positive consumption trends,” Teng said.

Units of the Fund starts trading today on Bursa Securities under its stock short name CHINAETF-MYR for the MYR quoted units, and CHINAETF-USD for the USD quoted units, making the Fund the first Malaysian-listed ETF to be listed in dual currencies. Investors can buy and sell units throughout the trading day like any other publicly-traded shares, with a minimum board lot size of 100 Units. The Fund was launched at an initial issue price of HKD10.00 per unit.

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