MSCI has launched a new suite of China thematic indices designed to help investors capitalize on the long-term, structural changes in the country. The 20 new indices span across three categories: transformative technologies, society and lifestyle, and environment and resources.

Stephane Mattatia, global head of derivatives licensing and thematic indexes at MSCI, says: “We have identified long-term structural trends that are expected to transform global economies, drive innovation and redefine business models. They have significant growth potential and are increasingly important drivers of earnings and equity returns. Unlike traditional, backward-looking investment approaches that focus on past winners, thematic investing reflects a future world that may be very different from the past.”

China has enjoyed high levels of economic growth during the past 40 years and is set to contribute 19% of global GDP by 2024. Its economy continued to grow despite the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and is expected to be leading world growth this year.

“Since the launch of our flagship MSCI China and MSCI China A Indexes, we continue to develop innovative index solutions to help investors capture China’s growth potential in their portfolios,” says Doug Walls, MSCI’s head of index products for Asia-Pacific. “Using MSCI’s global thematic framework and flexible and scalable rules-based methodology, we have identified 10 trends fuelling China’s economic growth and constructed the China Thematic Indexes to help investors capitalize on opportunities created by these macroeconomic, technological and demographic trends that are both structural and transformative in nature.”