ETF launches hit record, but fund sizes shrink

CHINA saw record issuance of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) this year, but cut-throat competition has pushed the average launch size of ETFs to their lowest in nine years, Shanghai Securities News reported yesterday.

Fund houses launched 271 ETFs this year, raising a record 187.6 billion yuan (US$29.44 billion), the newspaper said. However, the average ETF launch size was just 690 million yuan, hitting the lowest level in nine years, due to intense competition for investment, according to the article. More than 70 percent of the new ETF launches, or 192, raised less than 500 million yuan.

Developers flag risks after sharp share price rise

RECENT sharp increases in China property stocks have prompted some developers, including Tahoe Group and Sichuan Languang Development Co., to flag investment risks, citing poor fundamentals.

The CSI300 Real Estate Index hit a two-month high Tuesday and has rebounded almost 20 percent from its November low, bolstered by signs of policy easing. Tahoe Group, a struggling developer whose shares have surged 21 percent this week, cautioned investors against risks yesterday. Sichuan Languang said the company had made little process in debt restructuring.

New Hope seeks US$100m for cold chain unit

DOMESTIC agriculture conglomerate New Hope Group Co. is considering raising about US$100 million for its cold chain logistics business, according to people familiar with the matter.

Fresh Life Cold Chain Logistics Co. is sounding out potential industry and private equity investors, they said. The company is seeking a valuation of at least US$1 billion, said one of the people.

Regulator halts deal with Alibaba Cloud

CHINESE regulators yesterday suspended an information-sharing partnership with Alibaba Cloud Computing, a subsidiary of e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba Group, over accusations it failed to promptly report and address a cybersecurity vulnerability.

Alibaba Cloud did not immediately report vulnerabilities in the popular, open-source logging framework Apache Log4j2 to China’s telecom regulator, according to a notice by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). In response, the MIIT suspended a cooperative partnership with the cloud unit regarding cybersecurity threats and information-sharing platforms, to be reassessed in six months and revived depending on the company’s internal reforms, the notice said.