China boosts index investments in latest bid to revive market

An electronic ticker displays stock figures in Pudong's Lujiazui Financial District in Shanghai, China, on Monday, Feb. 19, 2024. Chinese stocks saw modest gains as onshore traders returned from the Lunar New Year holidays, with broader caution toward the market offsetting buoyant travel and spending data.

China announced new measures to promote the development of index investment products, its latest effort to shore up the ailing equity market as it embraces a turbulent external economic environment.

The government aims to achieve a significant increase in the scale and proportion of index investment in the capital market through efforts over a period of time, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said in a statement posted on its website on Sunday.

The regulator set a goal of strengthening the asset allocation function of index funds and providing more convenient channels for medium- and long-term funds to enter the market.

CSRC will also try to attract foreign funds to invest in the yuan-denominated A-share market via exchange-traded funds and actively promote the development of equity and bond ETFs. The stock market watchdog also pledged to reduce index funds’ costs and exempt market-making fees.

Chinese shares have been under pressure in recent months amid fears over a prolonged economic slowdown and the threat of higher tariffs by US President Donald Trump. Traders have grown increasingly disappointed at Beijing’s piecemeal stimulus efforts and have questioned the potency of the measures introduced so far.

CSRC Chairman Wu Qing said Thursday the government is guiding local mutual funds and insurers to boost their stock purchases. He said mutual funds should raise their holdings of onshore equities by at least 10% annually for the next three years, while large state-owned insurers will need to invest 30% of their new policy premiums from 2025.

Separately China has approved 52 billion yuan ($7.2 billion) for insurers’ long-term equity investment, China Banking and Insurance News reported on Sunday.