BlackRock to launch first ETF product in China this year, recruiting in Shanghai

In a statement to the media, BlackRock said, "BlackRock is committed to helping more Chinese investors achieve their financial goals by providing them with a broader range of investment products and solutions, including ETFs and index investments."

BlackRock is the first global asset management firm to be permitted to establish a wholly owned subsidiary in China to conduct onshore mutual fund business. In the future, BlackRock will further expand its presence in China as it enters the Chinese ETF market.

Fast-growing China ETF Market By the end of 2021, China's ETF market will reach USD 220 billion with over 600 products, which is not a large proportion of the USD 10 trillion global ETF market, but the Chinese market is growing at a rapid pace.

According to SZSE data, the ETF asset size in China grew by 30.5% in 2021, almost the same as the 31.9% growth rate of the U.S. ETF market and significantly higher than the 24.7% growth rate of the European region.

Currently, 80% of the Chinese ETF market is managed by domestic companies, with the rest largely attributed to joint venture fund companies. And according to the market report released by the SSE, the top 10 managers of Chinese ETFs, except for Huatai Berry, are all local Chinese fund management companies.

ETF themes According to people familiar with the matter, several index providers have already started talks with BlackRock, but BlackRock has yet to determine the indexes tracked by the final ETFs.

But one person familiar with the matter said that among the indices BlackRock is considering is the "carbon neutral" thematic index published by CSI Index Co. In the past two years, China has launched dozens of environment-related ETFs that track new energy stocks.