JOHANNESBURG, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) on Wednesday listed the Prescient China Balanced Feeder Actively Managed Exchange Traded Fund (AMETF), trading under the ticker PANDA.
The fund aims to achieve long-term capital growth by investing primarily in a global fund focused on the Chinese market.
According to the JSE, the fund holds a diverse mix of Chinese equities, government and corporate bonds and cash instruments. It provides access to China's onshore market through Prescient's approved investment license.
While the primary focus remains on mainland China, the fund may also include global shares, bonds and currencies to optimize value or manage risk.
The PANDA AMETF targets investors seeking geographic diversification and offers a distinctive growth option outside the South African market.
"We are pleased to welcome the Prescient China Balanced Feeder AMETF to the JSE as we continue to drive portfolio diversification for South African investors," said Adele Hattingh, business development and exchange-traded products manager at the JSE.
"This fund offers a straightforward way to add China exposure to a portfolio via a local stockbroking account, providing a regulated, transparent and efficient gateway to one of the world's largest economies," she said.
Tian Pan, head of strategy at Prescient China, welcomed the listing, noting that it is the first AMETF in South Africa dedicated to the world's second-largest economy.
"The Prescient China Balanced Feeder AMETF allows individual investors and pension funds to gain diversified exposure to all major Chinese assets, including onshore and offshore listed equities and fixed-income instruments, with the benefit of immediate tradability on the JSE," Pan said.
The listing comes amid a period of robust growth for the sector. In 2025, the South African ETF market recorded a 29 percent year-on-year growth rate, adding about 60 billion rand (about 3.75 billion U.S. dollars) in market capitalization. Currently, there are 132 ETFs listed on the JSE, with a total market capitalization exceeding 261 billion rand. ■