CSOP Unveils New ETF, Unlocking China's Core Economy for HK Investors

HONG KONG – January 27, 2026 – CSOP Asset Management is set to broaden the horizons for Hong Kong investors tomorrow with the listing of the CSOP Huatai-PineBridge CSI A500 ETF (Stock Code: 3101.HK) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This launch marks a significant milestone, introducing the city's first exchange-traded fund designed to track the performance of the CSI A500 Index, a modern benchmark for China's vast A-share market.

The ETF is scheduled to begin trading on January 28, 2026, with a listing price of approximately HKD 7.9 per share. With a trading lot size of 100 shares, investors can gain exposure to a broad swath of the Chinese economy for a minimum investment of about HKD 790, excluding fees. The fund carries an annual management fee of 0.99%.

This new product is more than just another ETF; it represents a deepening of the financial ties between mainland China and Hong Kong, offering international capital a fresh and accessible conduit into what many consider the core assets of the world's second-largest economy.

A New Benchmark for China Exposure

The key to understanding the significance of the 3101.HK ETF lies in its underlying benchmark, the CSI A500 Index. Launched by China Securities Index Co. in September 2024, the index is engineered to be China's answer to the S&P 500, providing a comprehensive and balanced snapshot of the A-share market.

Unlike older benchmarks that are often heavily concentrated in a few sectors, the CSI A500 selects 500 large-cap, highly liquid securities using a more sector-neutral methodology. It aims to reflect the industry distribution of the broader market, with significant weightings in Industrials, Information Technology, Materials, and Communication Services. This composition provides a more diversified portfolio, deliberately capping the influence of the financial sector, a key differentiator from indices like the CSI 300, which is heavily weighted toward banks. In 2025, the index posted an impressive return of 22.43%.

Furthermore, the index incorporates modern investment principles, including ESG filtering to screen out companies with low environmental, social, and governance ratings. All 500 constituents are also eligible for the Northbound Stock Connect program, enhancing their accessibility and appeal to international investors. This forward-thinking construction is designed to capture the performance of China's “new quality productive forces” and its transition towards a high-quality, innovation-driven economy.

Unlocking the A-Share Market via Hong Kong

For investors outside mainland China, accessing the A-share market has historically been complex. The CSOP Huatai-PineBridge CSI A500 ETF simplifies this process through a sophisticated feeder fund structure.

The Hong Kong-listed ETF (3101.HK) will invest at least 90% of its assets into its master fund, the Huatai-PineBridge CSI A500 ETF, which is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. This structure allows the Hong Kong fund to leverage the scale and efficiency of an established and highly successful mainland counterpart. The master fund is a giant in its own right, boasting assets under management of approximately RMB 49.5 billion as of early January 2026, making it the largest among its peers globally.

This access is facilitated through established channels like the Qualified Foreign Investor (QFI) scheme and the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect. These programs are the primary gateways for international capital to flow into mainland China's domestic markets. By using these channels, the ETF provides a regulated and streamlined path for investors to participate in the growth of China's leading companies without needing to navigate the complexities of direct investment on mainland exchanges.

Strategic Implications for Investors and the Market

The launch is a strategic move for CSOP Asset Management, one of Hong Kong's leading ETF issuers with over $27 billion in assets. It reinforces the firm's comprehensive ETF strategy and its role in the internationalization of Chinese assets. The collaboration with Huatai-PineBridge Investments highlights a growing trend of cross-border partnerships that leverage local expertise to deliver innovative products to a global audience.

For Hong Kong, this listing solidifies its position as the indispensable financial gateway to China. By providing a platform for products that meet the evolving needs of global investors, the city continues to demonstrate its value as a premier international financial center. The introduction of the first CSI A500 ETF enriches the diversity of Hong Kong's product ecosystem and meets a clear demand for broad-based A-share allocation tools.

For investors, the ETF offers a compelling tool for portfolio diversification. It provides exposure to a different set of economic drivers than those typically found in US or European markets, focusing on China's domestic consumption, industrial modernization, and technological advancement. Analysts note that while it provides broad exposure to the A-share market, it's important for investors to recognize that it does not include China's major technology companies listed in Hong Kong and the United States, such as Tencent and Alibaba.

Mr. Zhou Yi, CEO of Huatai Securities and Chairman of China Southern Asset Management and CSOP Asset Management, commented on the strategic importance of the launch. "The listing of CSOP Huatai-PineBridge CSI A500 ETF in Hong Kong is an important step in CSOP's comprehensive ETF strategy," he said. "Leveraging our collaboration with Huatai-PineBridge Investments, this product provides Hong Kong investors with a new channel to invest in leading companies across China's mainstream industries, helps enrich Hong Kong's ETF market, and meets investors' demand for allocating to broad-based A-share indices."