Four exchange-traded funds from E Fund Management have simultaneously listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand via depositary receipts, marking the most comprehensive "investment menu" of Chinese core assets ever offered in ASEAN markets. The cross-border listing represents another milestone in the growing financial connectivity between China and Thailand.
On September 9, E Fund Management partnered with Krung Thai Bank, a major Thai state-backed commercial bank, to list four depositary receipts on the Thai bourse. These TDRs are linked to E Fund's onshore ETFs tracking the CSI 300 Index, the STAR 50 Index, the ChiNext Index, and the CSI Artificial Intelligence Thematic Index respectively. This coordinated overseas expansion covers everything from large-cap blue chips to "hard tech" and from growth innovation to AI frontiers, completing a comprehensive investment ecosystem for Chinese core assets in Southeast Asia's key financial hub.
The four ETFs target distinct investment directions, forming a multi-layered map of China's investment landscape. The CSI 300 ETF anchors China's economic core assets with a focus on large-cap blue-chip value. The STAR 50 ETF concentrates on hard technology and self-sufficiency, targeting strategic emerging industries including semiconductors and high-end equipment. The ChiNext ETF captures growth and innovation momentum by focusing on leaders in the new economy. The AI ETF precisely targets the frontier of the AI industry chain. Together, these four products offer Thai investors differentiated choices ranging from broad-based allocation to thematic investing.
In terms of trading mechanics, TDRs are a security instrument established by the Stock Exchange of Thailand to facilitate local trading of overseas assets. They are denominated in Thai baht and listed directly on the secondary market. Local investors do not need to open separate securities accounts in mainland China—they can trade directly using their existing Thai stock accounts. The cross-border conversion mechanism between TDRs and ETFs enables two-way market connectivity, significantly lowering the threshold for overseas investors to access China's capital markets.
The introduction of these flagship products to Thailand marks important progress in E Fund Management's globalization strategy and its efforts to serve global investors seeking China exposure. Going forward, the company will continue leveraging connectivity mechanisms and deep cooperation with overseas institutions to enrich the tools and pathways available for international investors, supporting high-level two-way opening of China's capital markets.
This is not E Fund's first foray into Thailand. Earlier, Bualuang China Equity Fund, a fund-of-funds managed by Thai asset management leader Bualuang Asset Management, invested in E Fund Ruihong mixed fund. Subsequently, Bualuang Asset Management launched new products allocating to E Fund's equity offerings through the QFII channel.
In fact, this is far from the first deep collaboration between Chinese public fund managers and the Thai market. Since 2025, cooperation between the two countries' capital markets has visibly accelerated. In June 2025, China Asset Management partnered with Bualuang Asset Management to launch the first feeder fund linked to the CSI A500 Index in Thailand, marking the first time a Chinese A500 broad-based index was offered overseas. In November of the same year, a TDR backed by the Invesco Great Wall ChiNext 50 ETF was listed on the Thai bourse, becoming both Thailand's first depositary receipt linked to a China-listed ETF and mainland China's first ETF to go "overseas" via the TDR structure—a critical step in Sino-Thai capital market cooperation.
In December, China Asset Management together with Thai brokerage InnovestX Securities simultaneously listed TDRs linked to the CSI 300 ETF and the STAR 50 ETF, marking the first time Shanghai Stock Exchange ETFs entered overseas markets through the DR model.
Moreover, the forms of cooperation between the two countries' capital markets have become increasingly diverse. At the end of July 2025, Fullgoal Fund's Hong Kong subsidiary reached an agreement with KKP, a Thai integrated financial group. A feeder fund issued by KKP raised over $100 million in its initial offering, primarily investing in Fullgoal Hong Kong's Greater China-focused equity public funds. This represents the first time KKP has introduced a Chinese asset manager's active equity capabilities to its wealth management platform, and serves as a landmark case of Chinese asset managers entering mainstream ASEAN wealth management channels with active management strategies.
From linkage to a single broad-based index, to coverage of indices including ChiNext 50, CSI 300, and STAR 50, and now to E Fund's three-dimensional four-product matrix, the trajectory shows clear evolution. Similarly, the shift from passive index products to active equity strategies demonstrates that Chinese public fund managers are extending their presence in Thailand from product-level "going overseas" to output of investment research and management capabilities.
The expansion of public funds' overseas footprint extends well beyond Thailand. From Hong Kong as the traditional bridgehead, multiple fund companies have extended their operations to Singapore, the United States, the United Kingdom, and beyond. More overseas-listed products are channeling steady long-term foreign capital into the A-share market.
On the quota front for outward investment, the latest data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange shows that in August 2026, the new round of QDII quota increases totaled $6.84 billion, with securities and fund institutions receiving $3.72 billion—more than half of the total. Cumulative approved quotas have reached $101 billion, surpassing the $100 billion mark for the first time.
Industry observers note that the flurry of fund "going overseas" activity is backed by clear institutional support. The China Securities Regulatory Commission previously issued guidance on strengthening supervision of securities firms and public fund companies to accelerate the building of first-class investment banks and institutions, which supports qualified foreign institutions establishing operations in China, and promotes pilot cross-border connectivity programs including "fund mutual recognition," "ETF cross-listing," and "Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect." It also calls for research and exploration of cross-border brokerage business pilots. In August of this year, CSRC Chairman Wu Qing stated in Hong Kong that regulators support more high-quality securities and fund companies in developing their business in Hong Kong and expanding globally, and will promote the two markets' institutions to launch more ETF products based on both markets that are positioned around China's modern industrial system, while optimizing the ETF product registration mechanism to jointly enhance the international influence of Chinese indices and Chinese assets.