by DU Meng

China's exchange-traded fund industry expanded its overseas footprint on Jan 20 with the listing of a CSI A500 ETF under the Stock Connect framework, marking the overseas debut of a broad-based benchmark designed to capture core companies across China's onshore equity market.

The CSOP China A500 Index ETF (SUN.SG) debuted on the Singapore Exchange, raising 253 million yuan. It is the first CSI A500 ETF to be launched overseas through cross-border connectivity mechanisms linking China's onshore market with foreign exchanges.

The listing comes as Chinese fund managers accelerate overseas expansion to meet growing global demand for diversified asset allocation. Data from Wind Information show total assets in cross-border ETFs across the market had exceeded 910 billion yuan (about US$130 billion) as of Jan 20.

Chinese ETFs initially expanded beyond the mainland via Hong Kong and the United States, but their reach has widened to markets including Japan, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand.

Industry participants said Chinese ETF products reach overseas investors through three main routes: domestically listed cross-border ETFs that invest in foreign markets; overseas-listed ETFs that provide exposure to onshore Chinese assets; and cross-listing arrangements, under which fund managers in different markets issue ETFs tracking the same index and invest in one another via secondary markets. 

Product offerings have also become more specialized. Beyond flagship broad-based indices such as the CSI 300 and CSI A500, overseas-bound ETFs increasingly track narrower segments, including the ChiNext 50 and CSI Dividend indices, as investors seek more targeted exposure.

The expansion has been supported by the gradual rollout of ETF connectivity schemes over the past six years. Key milestones include the launch of China–Japan ETF Connect in 2019, the inclusion of ETFs in the mainland–Hong Kong Stock Connect scheme in 2022, the start of Shanghai–Singapore ETF Connect in 2024, and a dedicated ETF connectivity agreement with Brazil’s B3 exchange in 2025.

Overseas interest in allocating to Chinese assets has remained resilient, fund managers said, supported by the depth and liquidity of A-share blue chips and expectations of higher index inclusion in benchmarks such as MSCI and FTSE Russell.

In a report released in November 2025, UBS said global institutional investors increased their holdings of Chinese equities in the third quarter, with China stocks accounting for 1.1 percent of portfolios at the world's top 40 investment institutions, the highest level since early 2023.

CSOP Asset Management told Jiemian News that overseas listings of core products such as CSI A500 ETFs give international investors access to leading A-share companies and expand the investor base for mainland-listed ETFs.

Globally, index-based investing continues to expand. Morgan Asset Management China said global ETF net inflows reached US$1.7 trillion by the end of October 2025, lifting total assets to about US$19 trillion. Asia-Pacific ETF assets stood at US$2.35 trillion, with mainland China recording the largest net inflows in the region over the past year.

Challenges remain, including relatively low liquidity in some overseas markets and regulatory differences across jurisdictions, which raise the cost and complexity of overseas expansion, industry sources said.