KUALA LUMPUR (July 12): Value Partners Asset Management Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Value Partners Malaysia), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Value Partners Group Ltd, has launched a Shariah China A-Shares 100 exchange-traded fund (ETF), the world’s first A-share ETF that tracks the performance of Dow Jones Islamic Market China A-Shares 100 Index (Benchmark Index).
In a statement today, Value Partners Group said the Shariah China A-Shares 100 ETF adopts a full replication strategy, in which the ETF will hold every constituent of the Benchmark Index, having substantially the same weightings.
“The Shariah China A-Shares 100 ETF provides investors exposure to Shariah-compliant stocks within the China A-Shares equity universe.
“With the quantitative criteria adopted by the Benchmark Index, the Shariah China A-Shares 100 ETF provides investors with exposure to China’s new economy, allowing them to participate in the country’s changing dynamics and positive growth trends of the economic structure as China moves toward focusing on becoming a consumption- and services-led economy,” it added.
Value Partners Group said the Shariah methodology adopted requires companies to be screened on two levels.
“The first is a sector-based screen, where companies in the sin sectors (such as alcohol, tobacco, and gambling), pork-related products, conventional financial services, and weapons and defence, are excluded.
“The second is a quantitative screening of liquidity and total debt, based on specified and approved metrics. Because of these screenings, Shariah-compliant companies usually have strong business fundamentals supported by healthy balance sheets,” it said.
Value Partners Malaysia managing director Durraini Baharuddin said Value Partners Group is a well-recognised China investing expert, with a long track record of delivering superior investment performance for nearly 30 years and has strived to provide innovative products to its investors.
“Our new Shariah China A-Shares 100 ETF is a unique tool for Malaysian investors to capture opportunities in China’s new economy within Shariah principles. We trust that our new ETF will meet the needs of both institutional and individual investors who wish to find value in the China A-shares market,” she added.
Value Partners Group noted that the Shariah China A-Shares will be launched at an initial issue price of RM2 per unit.
“A listing ceremony, co-organised by Bursa Malaysia and Value Partners Malaysia, will be held on Wednesday, July 28, 2021 at 8.30am. Investors can buy and sell units of the Shairah China A-Shares 100 ETF throughout the trading day, starting July 28, 2021,” it added.
