(20 April 2022 – China) Blackrock plans to launch its first exchange-traded fund (ETF) in mainland China, marking the first wholly-owned foreign fund manager to tap the onshore Chinese ETF market.
The first product would be launched in the fourth quarter, but the fund management has yet to pick which index to track for the first ETF product. The world's largest money manager, which thrives on the rise of passive, invests 70% of its $10 trillion global portfolio in ETFs and index funds.
China's nascent $220 billion ETF market with over 600 products as at the end of 2021 has only in recent years started contributing meaningfully to a global passive fund boom that catapulted the sector beyond $10 trillion in value.
As all products supplied are foreign-domiciled, the American corporation now handles the overseas assets of a handful of China's significant state-backed investors, such as the country's sovereign wealth fund and national pension fund, through offshore units.
“BlackRock is committed to helping more Chinese investors achieve their financial goals by bringing them a broader suite of investment products and solutions, including ETF and index investments,” the company commented.