65pc of listed Hong Kong and Chinese firms to increase Belt and Road Initiative business in three years: CESC
Findings revealed at launch of new index that will track listed companies taking part in China’s ‘Marshall Plan’
Of more than 1,200 listed companies that can trade under the Stock Connect programme linking the bourses in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen, 65 per cent have said they will increase their Belt and Road Initiative business in the next three years, according to an index launched on Monday by a joint venture between these stock exchanges, three of China’s biggest.
The China Exchanges Services Belt and Road Index (CES OBOR) is the first index tracking listed companies that are taking part in the BRI, said Mao Zhirong, the chief executive of China Exchanges Services Company (CESC), a joint venture set up by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
The BRI, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, has been dubbed by analysts as China’s “Marshall Plan” and aims to connect Asia, Europe and Africa along five routes.
“We want to compile an index for investors to capture investment opportunities brought by the BRI, and for companies to gain better knowledge about their peers’ progress under the programme,” he said on Monday in Hong Kong.
The CES OBOR, denominated in the yuan, will reflect the stock price performance of 100 listed companies in Hong Kong and mainland China that are actively taking part in the BRI. It will use six indicators to gauge their participation – contracts, investments, sales, purchases, financing and insurance.