Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing has launched the HKEX AI Index, a benchmark of 40 Hong Kong-listed companies, and licensed it to Southern Asset Management for an ETF planned for mainland China. The fund’s launch remains subject to regulatory approval.

Key Takeaways

  • The index covers companies across AI chips, infrastructure, models and applications.
  • Southern Asset Management has an index licence, but the ETF has not been announced as launched or approved by regulators.

What the HKEX AI Index tracks

HKEX announced the index and licensing agreement on October 23, 2026. The exchange’s index launch announcement describes a benchmark designed to measure companies with high exposure to the AI value chain.

Constituents include SMIC, Alibaba Group, Tencent Holdings, Biren Technology, Zhipu AI, MiniMax and Horizon Robotics. The index spans chip design, infrastructure, AI models and applications.

Eligible companies must meet research and development and capital expenditure thresholds, each at no less than 3% of sales, as well as sales growth of at least 5% over the past two years. No constituent may exceed a 10% weighting, and each applications-segment stock is capped at 3%. The index is reviewed and rebalanced quarterly.

Mainland ETF still needs approval

HKEX’s agreement authorizes Southern Asset Management to develop an ETF tracking the index for the mainland Chinese market. The licence is not the same as regulatory approval or an available fund.

The ETF launch remains subject to regulatory approval, and the specific arrangements will be announced separately. Investors in AI-themed products may face high volatility.

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