Hong Kong launches HKEX Tech 100 Index in pivot towards innovation-driven growth Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) has launched its first equity index tracking Hong Kong-listed technology companies, underscoring the city’s ongoing shift from a market long dominated by property and finance towards innovation-driven growth. Unveiled on Tuesday, the HKEX Tech 100 Index tracks 100 large-cap and mid-cap companies spanning artificial intelligence, biotech and pharmaceuticals, electric vehicles and smart driving, information technology, internet, and robotics. Biotech companies under Chapter 18A of the listing rules and specialist technology companies under Chapter 18C are eligible for inclusion in the index. Qualified mainland investors can buy and sell the Hong Kong-listed stocks through Stock Connect, which links trading in Hong Kong with Shanghai and Shenzhen. “The new index covers the leading innovative sectors in our listed issuer universe that have transformed the DNA of Hong Kong’s markets,” said HKEX CEO Bonnie Chan Yiting. “Its launch underscores the critical role our markets play in nurturing these emerging industries.” The new benchmark “provides investors with an effective and comprehensive tool to capture opportunities in some of the most exciting and transformative sectors in our market”, she said. The index composition is expected to be reviewed semi-annually in June and December. The HKEX Tech 100 Index captures fruits of listing reforms over the past decade. Chapter 18A, introduced in 2018, allows pre-revenue biotech companies to list. Chapter 18C, launched in 2023, allows hi-tech firms in areas such as advanced hardware and software, advanced materials and new energy to tap international fundraising. Chapter 18B, rolled out in 2022, provides a framework for listing special purpose acquisition companies. Among Chapter 18A-listed firms in the benchmark are Sichuan Kelun-Biotech, Duality and BeOne, while Chapter 18C companies include XtalPi – also known as QuantumPharm – Black Sesame International and Horizon Robotics. Other notable companies in the index include Tencent, Xiaomi, Innovent Biologics, WuXi Biologics, BYD Electronic and Alibaba Group Holding. Alibaba owns the Post. The index went down 1.63 per cent at the close on Tuesday. The benchmark joins Hong Kong’s index portfolio alongside Hang Seng Indexes Company, a subsidiary of Hang Seng Bank that operates flagship benchmarks including the Hang Seng Index and the Hang Seng Tech Index. The city’s bourse operator has also entered a licensing agreement with E Fund Management to issue an exchange-traded fund in the mainland Chinese market based on the HKEX Tech 100 Index. E Fund Management is the largest mutual fund manager in China with over 3.6 trillion yuan (US$509 billion) under management as of June 30, 2025, according to its website. “This index brings together a comprehensive group of 100 leading technology companies listed in Hong Kong, reflecting the vibrancy and innovation of the city’s tech sector,” said Liu Xiaoyan, chairwoman of E Fund Management. The planned ETF “will aim to provide investors with an efficient way to tap into the growth opportunities of Hong Kong-listed tech companies while also supporting the real economy and fostering the ongoing development of emerging industries”, she added. Mike Leung Kit-man, director of Wocom Securities, said the “newly launched products help increase mainland investors’ interest in Hong Kong stocks, facilitate their investment in the local market, and support the medium-to-long-term development of Hong Kong’s capital market”. The transformation towards technology comes amid a wave of property stock delistings, with more than 30 Chinese property firms exiting Hong Kong and mainland exchanges since 2022. The latest was Joy City Property, which delisted on November 27 after 12 years of trading on HKEX. China Evergrande Group, once mainland China’s largest real estate developer, was delisted from HKEX in August after failing to restructure its more than US$300 billion debt. https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3335684/hong-kong-launches-hkex-tech-100-index-pivot-towards-innovation-driven-growth (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post