Indxx Licenses Cybersecurity Index to Global X ETFs Australia for an Exchange Traded Fund
September 13, 2023--Indxx is pleased to announce the licensing of their Indxx Cybersecurity Index to Global X ETFs Australia as the underlying benchmark for the Global X Cybersecurity ETF (Ticker: BUGG) which began trading today on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
This marks the fifth product tracking the index, with the other funds listed in the United States, Europe, Canada, and South Korea.
The Indxx Cybersecurity Index seeks to provide exposure to companies involved in the development and management of security protocols preventing intrusion and attacks to systems, networks, applications, computers, and mobile devices. The theme comprises of companies in some, but not limited to these industries: Packaged Software, Aerospace & Defense, Wireless Communications, Computer Communications and Information Technology Services.
Taiwan to crack down on payout mechanism for high-dividend ETFs
September 12, 2023--New investors' money is often used to boost dividends that would otherwise be diluted by huge inflows
Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission has announced plans to crack down on exchange traded funds' use of so-called earnings equalisation mechanisms that are used to shore up existing investors’ dividends.
Such ETFs set aside a portion of invested funds, often from newer subscribers, to mitigate the dilution of the percentage paid out in dividends due to existing investors in the ETF. The regulator instead wants to ensure that such payouts should largely come from "dividends and bond yield".
China attracts record ETF flows even as US and Europeans pull out
September 12, 2023--Stimulus measures appear to have prompted a surge that accounts for nearly a third of August global ETF investment
A push by Beijing to pump money into Chinese equity markets appears to have prompted a surge in investment resulting in China accounting for almost a third of global exchange traded fund flows in August.
China-focused equity ETFs saw record net inflows of $20.6bn in August, two-and-a-half times the level in July, according to data from BlackRock, dwarfing the $11.1bn pulled in by ETFs focused on US equities. The money that poured in all came from Asia Pacific-listed funds including China, with US and European investors actually pulling money out.
IMF Staff Completes 2023 Article IV Mission to Republic of Korea
September 6, 2023--With a gradual strengthening in 2023H2, growth is projected at 1.4 percent in 2023. Trend inflation is projected to continue to moderate toward the authorities' target.
Near-term fiscal and monetary policies should stay the course and remain restrictive, limiting the increase in public debt and continuing to address inflation.
Proactive measures have helped address stress in financial markets. Continued efforts are needed to contain financial vulnerabilities related to the real estate market and high household debt.
Structural reforms are needed to raise medium-term growth and address fiscal challenges from population aging.
"Like many other advanced economies, Korea has faced inflation challenges and a sharp growth slowdown. Headline inflation has declined significantly after peaking in mid-2022, though core inflation has remained stickier. Pockets of financial sector vulnerability emerged amid the housing market downturn and rising interest rates, and financial risks have increased but appear to remain manageable.
China fast-tracks approval of large batch of ETFs
September 4, 2023--Move coincides with flurry of measures aimed at stimulating stock market
China's securities regulator approved 17 exchange traded funds on a single day as part of a speeded-up process that resulted in three dozen public funds being authorised for sale.
The ETFs, which were part of the unusually large number of approvals on Friday last week, will invest in small-cap stocks and technology start-ups, according to regulatory filings posted on the China Securities Regulatory Commission website.
ETFGI reports assets invested in the ETFs industry in Asia Pacific (ex-Japan) reached a record of US$705 billion at the end of July
August 30, 2023--ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm covering trends in the global ETFs ecosystem, reported today that assets invested in the ETFs industry in Asia Pacific (ex-Japan) reached a record of US$705 billion at the end of July.
The ETFs industry in Asia Pacific (ex-Japan) gathered net inflows of US$13.84 billion during July, bringing year-to-date net inflows to US$70.24 billion. Assets have increased by 21.9% YTD in 2023, going from US$578.72 Bn at end of 2022 to US$705.51 Bn., according to ETFGI's July 2023 Asia Pacific (ex-Japan) ETFs and ETPs industry landscape insights report, the monthly report which is part of an annual paid-for research subscription service. (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted.)
Highlights
Assets invested in the ETFs industry in Asia Pacific (ex Japan) reached a record of $705.51 Bn at the end of July beating the previous record of $647.40 Bn at the end of June 2023.
Assets have increased by 21.9% YTD in 2023, going from $578.72 Bn at end of 2022 to $705.51 Bn.
Net inflows of $13.84 Bn during July.
YTD net inflows of $70.24 Bn are the second highest, behind the $72.63 Bn in YTD net inflows in 2022.
25th month of consecutive net inflows.
IMF Executive Board Concludes 2023 Article IV Consultation with Singapore
August 29, 2023--Singapore's post-pandemic recovery is nearly complete. Strong economic fundamentals and the authorities' decisive policy responses, including an unprecedented policy stimulus, supported a rapid recovery from the COVID-19 shock.
Following a sharp rebound of 8.9 percent in 2021, real GDP growth moderated to 3.6 percent in 2022, and weakened further to 0.4 percent (year on year) in 2023Q1, reflecting weaker global demand.
Despite the solid post-pandemic recovery, consumer-facing services (except the retail sector) and construction, the hardest hit sectors during pandemic, remained below pre-pandemic levels. Inflation remained elevated and broad-based at about 5.7 percent in April 2023, despite recent signs of moderation. Inflation expectations, however, remain well-anchored.
Macro policies are appropriately tight to moderate price pressures in 2023.
Nomura AM to launch Japan's first active ETFs
August 29, 2023--The products will be subject to daily disclosures and inverse active funds are not permitted
Nomura Asset Management has been granted approval by the Tokyo Stock Exchange to list the first two actively managed exchange traded funds in Japan.
The Next Funds Japan Growth Equity Active Exchange Traded Fund and the Next Funds Japan High Dividend Equity Active Exchange Traded Fund are scheduled to start trading on the Tokyo bourse on September 7.
A minimum investment of around ¥2,000 per unit ($13.68) will be required for the two ETFs, which will apply respective annual management fees of 0.6875 per cent and 0.5225 per cent.
E Fund Management Takes Active Role in Shanghai STAR Market Internationalization
August 21, 2023--E Fund Management ("E Fund"), the largest fund management company with offices in mainland China and Hong Kong, recently was invited to the web event commemorating the fourth anniversary of the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) Science and Technology Innovation Board (STAR Market), which highlighted the remarkable strides in the internationalization of the STAR Market.
Established in July 2019, the STAR Market aims to promote the innovation-driven and high-quality economic development, and pilots in the registration system reform and market making mechanism. In just four years, the STAR Market has been remarkably successful in attracting international participation by expanding its product ecosystem and broadening channels for foreign investors. According to SSE, nearly 4% of total shares are currently held by foreign ownership, which contributes to more than 10% of total trading volume.
Broad-based ETFs on the Rise as RMB 300 Billion Flowed into Passive Investing
August 21, 2023--Despite the market volatility this year, there remained a core foundation of inflows into equity ETFs.
So far this year, equity ETFs took in more than RMB 300 billion (USD 41.4 billion), according to China Galaxy Research Institute.
Investors are piling huge amounts of capital into equity ETFs during market decline, while May, June, and July each recorded a net inflow of RMB 75 billion (USD 10.3 billion), RMB 55 billion (USD 7.6 billion), and RMB 61 billion (USD 8.4 billion) respectively, all at historical highs. This prevailing trend has continued as data showed that equity ETFs drew RMB 79 billion (USD 10.9 billion) in the month to August 15th. On August 7th, the daily inflow surpassed RMB 10 billion (USD 1.4 billion) and remained at the similar level for the next two days.