HSBC launches South Africa ETF on LSE

HSBC has listed its MSCI South Africa ETF on the London Stock Exchange, to trade in both sterling and US dollars.

The fund, as with all ETFs in HSBC's current line-up, uses physical replication to track its underling index, a cap-weighted measure of 85% of the South African equity market.

The domestic stock market is heavily weighted towards materials and financials, and to a lesser extent the consumer discretionary and telecommunications sectors. South Africa was recently invited to join the BRIC group of countries in a formal letter from the Chinese government.

HSBC head of ETFs Farley Thomas says the country presents a potentially high growth story. "South Africa is one of the bigger economies within the emerging markets universe. It has an abundant supply of natural resources alongside well-developed financial, communications, energy and transport sectors."

The MSCI South Africa fund is HSBC's 16th ETF launch and marks a continuation of the company's low-cost strategy, carrying what it claims is a market leading total expense ratio of 0.60%. Further registrations and cross-listings across Europe are also planned.