Debut of first Saudi ETF in HK a milestone: Paul Chan
Financial Secretary Paul Chan said on Wednesday that mutual financial cooperation with the Middle East will further boost financial connectivity and capital flows between the two regions. Chan was speaking at the listing ceremony for the CSOP Saudi Arabia ETF and Saudi investment forum in Central, where the SAR's first exchange traded fund covering Saudi Arabian stocks made its debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, marking Asia's first ETF tracking the kingdom's equity market. The ETF, named CSOP SAUDI, tracks 56 constituent stocks of the FTSE Saudi Arabia Index, which has a market capitalisation of over US$270 billion. Hong Kong investors can trade through the ETF, which includes the oil company Saudi Aramco, and the Saudi National Bank in Hong Kong dollars or yuan. Chan called the launch a "milestone" for financial cooperation with Saudi Arabia.   "Today's ETF launch does much more than adding to our financial products. It tells investors that we are determined to create innovative new ways to cooperate, to realise mutually-rewarding opportunities with Saudi Arabia and the Middle East," he said. Speaking at the same ceremony, Yazeed Al-Humied, deputy governor of the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, said the aim of the ETF is to attract more foreign investors into the Saudi capital markets.  "This new fund launched at an important time for all of us, and as we look to connect this capital markets hub with opportunities in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is attractive to Asian investors not (just) because it is a major and growing market, but also due to its strategic location linking the three continents Asia, Europe, and Africa," he said.  "The fund would offer those investors a unique opportunity to gain exposure to our fast growing and ambitious G20 country that is positioned for future economic growth."