An iShares Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) based on the FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index has been launched by BGI. This is the first China-only ETF for US investors. It is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. On the 29 September 2004, FTSE Group announced that BGI are also launching an ETF for European investors based on the FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index that will trade on the LSE SETSmm segment this autumn.
Mark Makepeace, Chief Executive of FTSE Group and Chairman of FXI, said, “We are very pleased that BGI has selected one of the FTSE/Xinhua indexes as the basis for their newest ETF for the US market. FXI indices are recognized by both domestic and international investors as the leading measure of China’s markets, and the FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index is just one example of how our indexes can form the basis of investment products for up-and-coming markets.”
Lee Kranefuss, CEO of BGI’s Intermediary and ETF Business, said, “The collaborative efforts of FTSE/Xinhua and BGI has resulted in U.S. investors having a pure mainland China iShares to execute an investment strategy that involves one of the world’s largest and most exciting economies.”
“We are proud to be the benchmark provider for the first China-only ETF in the US,” said Fredy Bush, CEO of Xinhua Finance and Director of FXI, “It is the perfect mix of FTSE’s proven index methodology together with Xinhua Finance’s expertise on China’s financial markets that has enabled this to happen.”