According to the Zhitong Finance APP, the Hong Kong ETP market is experiencing strong growth in 2025, marking a breakthrough year. As of the end of September, the trading volume in the Hong Kong market has surpassed that of South Korea and Japan, making it the third-largest market globally; the asset management scale has increased by 34.1% year-on-year, reaching HKD 653.5 million. On October 21, Jean-Francois Mesnard-Sense, Head of Exchange-Traded Products at the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), explained six major trends in the ETP market sector.
1. Trading volume hits a record high, turnover rate leads globally
In 2025, the Hong Kong ETP market has shown explosive growth, with an average daily trading amount reaching HKD 37.8 billion as of the end of September, a year-on-year increase of 146%, making it the third-highest market for ETP trading volume globally, surpassing South Korea and Japan.
This growth is primarily driven by two factors: first, the popularity of technology-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs), particularly the flagship Hang Seng Tech Index ETP (including leveraged and inverse products), which has significantly contributed to the overall growth of the ETP market; second, a large number of investors are purchasing eligible ETFs through the Stock Connect, leading to a steady increase in ETP trading volume.
Globally, as of the end of September 2025, the turnover rate of the Hong Kong ETP market (including ETFs and leveraged and inverse products) ranks first in the world.
The turnover rate measures the frequency of transactions of ETPs (relative to their asset value). The Hong Kong ETP market ranked second globally in 2023 with a turnover ratio of 9.0, jumped to first place in 2024 with 10.2, and has now reached 14.7, solidifying Hong Kong's leading position globally.
2. Product innovation meets retail investor needs
In March 2025, Asia's first individual stock leveraged and inverse products were launched, providing investors with strategic investment tools to trade international equity securities such as NVIDIA, Tesla, and Coinbase during Asian trading hours.
Shortly thereafter, the world's first leveraged and inverse product for Korean stocks (Samsung Electronics) was also launched in Hong Kong in May 2025, further expanding the Asian leveraged and inverse product market.
Market reactions indicate that these products are particularly favored by retail investors in Asia. These products offer investors the opportunity to invest in high liquidity stocks listed on major exchanges with daily price movements that are double both positively and negatively, helping them enhance returns or hedge against market downturns, thus becoming ideal tools for tactical short-term investments and volatility trading. As of the end of September 2025, the average daily trading amount of all leveraged and inverse products listed in Hong Kong reached HKD 3.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 51%.
Additionally, as investors seek higher returns with controllable risks, covered call option ETFs have become increasingly popular since their first listing in February 2024. With interest rate cuts on the horizon and an unstable macro environment, many investors focused on income-generating products are interested in investing in high-dividend and covered call option ETFs. As of the end of September 2025, the total asset management scale of the six covered call option ETFs listed in Hong Kong reached HKD 8.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of over 32 times, with the average daily trading amount soaring nearly 77 times to HKD 132.2 million year-to-date
On October 13, 2025, the total trading volume of all covered call option ETFs listed in Hong Kong exceeded HKD 1 billion for the first time in a single day, reflecting investors' increasing preference for such products focused on enhancing yield strategies in volatile market conditions.
3. Connectivity Drives Growth
As of the end of September 2025, the average daily trading volume of ETFs traded through the Shanghai-Shenzhen Stock Connect and Hong Kong Stock Connect reached HKD 4.2 billion (up 128% year-on-year) and RMB 3.2 billion (up 142% year-on-year), respectively. In August 2025, the average daily trading volume of Hong Kong Stock Connect ETFs even reached HKD 9.1 billion, setting a new monthly record.
During the same period, there were a total of 290 ETFs eligible for trading through the Shanghai-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect, including 273 mainland-listed ETFs (northbound Shanghai-Shenzhen Stock Connect) and 17 Hong Kong-listed ETFs (southbound Hong Kong Stock Connect).
With more ETFs expected to be included in the Shanghai-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect in November 2025, cross-border ETF trading is expected to remain active.
4. Technology and Biotechnology Products Favored by Investors
In the first three quarters of 2025, a total of 14 technology-themed ETFs were listed in Hong Kong, with a total asset management scale reaching HKD 120.1 billion (up 102% year-on-year), and the average daily trading volume from the beginning of the year to date totaled HKD 7.4 billion (up 247%), with a total net cash inflow of HKD 29.1 billion. In biotechnology, three biotechnology-themed ETFs have been listed since the beginning of the year, with a total asset management scale of HKD 3.4 billion, an increase of 123% compared to the end of September 2024. These biotechnology ETFs have brought in a net cash inflow of HKD 1.3 billion this year.
5. Global Connectivity Continues to Deepen
In February 2025, an ETF tracking the Nasdaq 100 index was listed in Hong Kong, providing local investors with an efficient channel to invest in large U.S. companies and tech stocks during Asian trading hours. Subsequently, in May, Hong Kong launched Asia's first Saudi Islamic bond ETF, enriching the variety of fixed-income products in Hong Kong while strengthening financial market connections between Hong Kong and the Middle East. In September 2025, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, enhancing market connections between Hong Kong and the UAE. These achievements are built on the groundbreaking inclusion of ETFs in the Shanghai-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect, consolidating Hong Kong's role as a channel supporting cross-border capital flows and its growing influence in the ETF sector.
6. Actively Managed ETFs on the Rise
Actively managed ETFs have become the focus of the global market in 2025. Driven by multiple factors such as a strong market rebound, robust second-quarter performance from various companies, and an explosion in the tech sector, the inflow of funds into actively managed ETFs reached USD 183 billion in the first half of 2025. Asset management companies are accelerating the launch of more actively managed products in Hong Kong to meet investors' demand for outcome-driven and yield-centered strategies.
As of the end of September 2025, there were 31 actively managed ETFs listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (up from 26 at the end of 2024 and just 1 in June 2019), with a total market value of approximately HKD 23.7 billion, a year-on-year increase of 143% compared to HKD 9.8 billion in 2024. These products contributed approximately HKD 232 million in average daily trading volume to the ETF market, a 411% increase compared to HKD 45.3 million in the same period last year
Conclusion
The Hong Kong ETF market has performed strongly this year, primarily benefiting from its long-term stable growth and continuous development, which is also key to making Hong Kong a leading global ETF market. This trend will become one of the global focal points at the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) ETF Summit on October 21, 2025

HKXCY

00388

The Hong Kong ETP market is expected to experience strong growth in 2025, becoming the third largest market globally, with trading volume surpassing that of South Korea and Japan, and assets under management increasing by 34.1%. The market is exhibiting six major trends, including record-high trading volumes, leading turnover rates globally, and product innovations that meet retail investor demands. The growth of technology ETFs and the Hong Kong Stock Connect has energized the market, with the liquidity ratio rising from 9.0 in 2023 to 14.7 in 2025, demonstrating Hong Kong's leading position in the global ETP market

HKEX: The Hong Kong ETP market will see strong growth in 2025, with six major trends emerging in the sector