The Hang Seng Biotechnology Index futures will begin trading on November 28

The Hang Seng Index Company announced that the Hang Seng Biotechnology Index futures will begin trading on November 28 (subject to regulatory approval), further expanding the index futures product suite based on the Hang Seng Index series. The futures contract is still pending regulatory approval.

The Hang Seng Biotechnology Index futures focus on one of the fastest-growing and most dynamic sectors, providing the market with targeted risk management tools and complementing the existing biotechnology-related products and flagship stock index derivatives offered by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (00388.HK).

The Hang Seng Biotechnology Index saw an increase of 112% on October 8 this year. Although it has recently retreated, it has still outperformed the Hang Seng Composite Index's 34% increase year-to-date. As of the end of October, the one-year annualized volatility of the Hang Seng Biotechnology Index was 39.4%, higher than the 35.2% of the Tech Index and the 24.2% of the Hang Seng Composite Index. Therefore, the launch of the Hang Seng Biotechnology Index futures provides market participants with a new tool for risk management in a relatively high-volatility sector