(Yicai) Dec. 14 -- Huatai-PineBridge Investments, the joint venture between Chinese securities brokerage Huatai Securities and US global asset manager PineBridge Investments, has applied to register the Chinese mainland’s first exchange-traded funds focused on the Saudi stock market.

Huatai-PineBridge is submitting materials for the Huatai-PineBridge CSOP Saudi Arabia ETF, which will indirectly invest in the Saudi stock market through the Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed CSOP Saudi Arabia ETF, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said yesterday.

The CSOP Saudi Arabia ETF [HKG: 2830] surged 2.7 percent as of yesterday since it was listed on the HKEX on Nov. 29, with a total transaction value of HKD89.5 million (USD11.5 million). The ETF, the first focused on the Saudi stock market in the Asia-Pacific region, is managed by Hong Kong-based CSOP Asset Management.

The CSOP Saudi Arabia ETF tracks the FTSE Saudi Arabia Index, which covers more than 50 medium- and large-sized listed Saudi companies. In the three years ended Nov. 30, the index soared nearly 39 percent, according to statistics from FTSE Russell.

The largest stocks held by the CSOP Saudi Arabia ETF are Al-Rajhi Bank at 12.7 percent, petrochemical giant Saudi Aramco at 9.9 percent, and Saudi National Bank at 9.4 percent. Half of the ETF’s heavyweight stocks are from the banking sector.

Saudi Arabia is the world’s 17th largest economy. With the issuance of Saudi Vision 2030 in 2016, it committed itself to diversify its economic direction from relying solely on petroleum. Its gross domestic product grew 8.7 percent last year from the previous one, faster than other Middle Eastern and G20 countries.

Editor: Futura Costaglione