An exchange-traded fund based on the co-branded benchmark with Bursa Malaysia Berhad will be introduced, and some Malaysian companies have shown interest in dual-listing in Hong Kong, said Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (0388) chief executive Bonnie Chan Yi-ting.
HKEX also mulls expanding the list of recognised stock exchanges in Asia, including Bursa Malaysia, aiming to support the financing demand for companies, Bonnie Chan added.
An issuer - Da Cheng International Asset Management Company - has signed a licensing agreement with HKEX to launch the ETF product, and the development of the index is well underway, she said.
The HKEX Bursa Malaysia Large Cap Index, launched last month, measures the performance of the 60 largest companies listed in Hong Kong and Malaysia by market capitalisation.
Bursa Malaysia chief executive Dato' Fad'l Mohamed highlighted the country's robust semiconductor ecosystem, which spans assembly, packaging, and testing, adding that he believes firms from the semiconductor and manufacturing sectors will be potential candidates for dual listings between the two exchanges.
Regarding Islamic finance, Bonnie Chan said that Hong Kong can learn from Malaysia on leveraging the sizable Islamic capital market, which reflects robust underlying demand.
The scale of the Islamic capital market in Malaysia reached about US$703.9 billion (HK$5.51 trillion), accounting for nearly 63 percent of the total Malaysian capital market, while over 80 percent of the listed companies in Bursa Malaysia are Shariah‑compliant, according to Bursa Malaysia.
Bonnie Chan noted that the counterparts can explore areas like Islamic bond issuance and Islamic finance, which can not only help Hong Kong to enlarge capital resources but also provide more products for global institutions that seek multi-asset allocation.
