Hong Kong’s bourse, which launched Asia’s first single-stock leveraged and inverse products last month, sees the move as a “significant development” that can help investors hedge against market downturns, according to Jean-Francois Mesnard-Sense, head of exchange-traded products at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX).
Local asset manager CSOP Asset Management listed the nine single-stock L&I ETPs on March 24.
According to Mesnard-Sense, they drew “enthusiastic” response with a turnover of HK$70 million (US$8.97 million) on the first day, exceeding the initial trading volume of similar products in other markets.
“This strong debut suggests significant regional investors’ interest in these new investment vehicles,” he says in an interview with Asia Asset Management. “The launch marks a significant development in Hong Kong’s ETP universe and an innovative addition to the L&I product suite.”
He says single-stock L&I products are popular among retail investors in Asia because they can provide directional exposure to daily price movements of highly liquid stocks on major exchanges. “This provides tools to investors to potentially amplify returns or hedge against market downturns.”
He also says the asset management industry should focus on investor education to encourage “responsible engagement” so that they understand risk exposure when investing in ETPs, including ETFs.
Figures from HKEX show that ETPs accounted for 16% of average daily turnover in the cash market in the first quarter of 2025, up from 14% in the same period a year ago.
According to Mesnard-Sense, investors gravitate to ETFs during periods of volatility as the funds can help them to quickly adapt to fast-changing market conditions.