Shenzhen Bourse Launches 2 New Greater Bay Area Stock Indexes – Caixin Global
What happened: The Shenzhen Stock Exchange launched two indexes on Tuesday for tech companies in the Greater Bay Area. Enterprises headquartered or registered in the the region–which includes Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and seven other cities in southern Guangdong province–are eligible. Both indexes will track stocks across Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Shenzhen’s exchanges. One index, Bay Area Innovative 100, will reflect stocks from 100 high-performing companies that work in emerging sectors, including Tencent, Ping’an Insurance, and China Merchants Bank. The Bay Area Composite Index will provide a broader look at Chinese companies in tech.
Why it’s important: According to Shenzhen’s Stock Exchange, the purpose of the two indexes is to better show the performance of companies across tech sectors as well as provide more options for investment. The launch announcement of new Greater Bay Area-centered indexes comes not long after the February release of a master blueprint for development of the region. The plan focuses heavily on innovation, leveraging Guangdong province’s overall prowess as a manufacturing hub as well as individual city strengths. Concrete guidelines for pushing forward growth, however, were previously delayed for close to a year. The much-anticipated release of the plan, as well as the announcement of two new indexes, may signal a renewed push in terms of policy.